Issue 136

December 2015

What will it take before weight-gain limits are enforced in MMA?

Haraldur Dean Nelson

Father and manager of UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson calls for safety first

Over and over again, fighters are fainting, being hospitalized and failing medicals due to weight cutting. Many fights, including title fights, have been canceled because of it, and fighters have been forced to move up a weight class after failing to hit their mark. One of the most recent examples was Johny Hendricks at UFC 192. 

It’s only a matter of time before we will have a serious or life-threatening situation if this isn’t addressed immediately. It’s also extremely unfair on fighters who are actually fighting in their right weight class and aren’t taking risks with their health.

There’s only one reason why fighters are cutting so much weight and that’s so they can put it back on and step into the cage as heavy as possible. Some welterweights lose more than 40lb to make 170lb. They then put most of it back on within 24 hours with the help of IVs and who knows what else. This needs to be stopped.

Fighters need some allowance to put on a few pounds after the weigh-ins to rehydrate for health concerns, but 10-15lb should be more than enough. A good rule would be that a fighter couldn’t go over the weight limit of the weight class above or be limited to gaining no more than 5-9% of the weight class limit he’s fighting at. 

So, for example, a welterweight shouldn’t tip the scales above the middleweight limit of 185lb. That’s around a 9% weight gain limit. So a welterweight could weigh up to 185lb when he walks into the cage. If he weighs more, the fight can still go ahead, but he’d lose part of his purse to his opponent and receive a one-point penalty deduction before the first bell. 

Further point deductions and possibly even more fines could be added for every 5lb (or percentage of the weight class) that he goes over the weight-gain limit. So a welterweight fighter that weighed over 190lb could get two points deducted and so on. Then that fighter would need to work the point deduction back by dominating the fight or winning by stoppage.

Also, shouldn’t all MMA promotions let the ring announcer tell the audience each competitor’s fight-night weight? This would also give the fighters another pause for thought because it’s not much fun having everyone know you actually weight 30lb more than your opponent.

In addition, if a fighter misses weight or goes over the weight-gain mark twice in succession, then their next three fights should be in the weight class above.

I don’t blame fighters who cut a lot of weight. They are playing within the rules. But it’s vital to address the problem – both for the sake of fairness and to eliminate the risks from extreme weight cutting. It should also reduce some fighters’ temptation to use IVs, even though they’re now banned in the UFC.

Introducing a weight-gain limit would make for much more evenly matched contests where skills, conditioning, game planning and heart prevail every time. 

It would also mean athletes would be far healthier during their careers and after they retire. It would make MMA safer, fairer and a better sport for everyone involved.

Long weight to go

+32lb

Gunnar Nelson and Zak Cummings both made 170lb for their contest in Dublin in 2014, but there was a huge difference in their fight-night weights. Reports state Nelson was 175lb but Cummings was 207lb – that would put him in the heavyweight division.