Issue 128

May 2015

How to cut weight on short notice and stay strong for fight night

Kevin Kearns

S&C coach to elite athletes, each issue he presents his best training tips.

To cut or not to cut? That has always been the question. It’s a constant struggle for MMA athletes. What weight should they fight at and how do they put on and retain muscle mass? I’ve seen many fighters have major challenges with these concepts. 

Some believe you should fight in a weight class that’s well below your walk-around weight. That way you’ll be bigger and more powerful. At Burn With Kearns and Mark DellaGrotte’s Sityodtong gym, however, nothing could be further from the truth. 

The reason is simple: if the weight cut kills you, you’ll be like a wet dishrag in the Octagon. A lot of fighters feel they’ll be more powerful if they can recover quickly after the cut then. This is so far from the truth. 

When you cut weight too fast or too much, you also dehydrate your brain and spinal column. I’ve witnessed lighter-weight fighters walking around 20lb above their weight class on fight week. Can you imagine what dropping 20lb in a week and then gaining most of it back in 24 hours would do to you? I would coach fighters to walk around at no more than 20lb above their weight class in the off-season. The motto was “keep low today for an easy tomorrow.” 

For one of Kenny Florian’s fights, we thought he would have to cut 9–12lb on the week of the fight. I decided the best approach ahead of that time was to cook all of his meals. That way I could monitor him completely and keep salt and fat – which are killers during fight week – out of his diet. 

By monitoring his intake in the final fortnight, he had to cut just 6lb with seven days to go. The easier the cut, the stronger the fighter. Kenny used to always say on the day of the weigh-ins, “Today is why I get paid, tomorrow is when I get paid.”

So, what weight should you fight at, and how do you build – or at least maintain – muscle mass while you’re cutting weight? Here are some rules I use with fighters:

FINDING THE RIGHT WEIGHT CLASS

I recommend walking around at 10–20lb above your desired class. In other words, if you walk around at 175lb, try cutting to 155lb, and so on. 

MUSCLE MASS VS. THE CUT

I recommend a three-phase system:

• Phase 1 is strength and hypertrophy, which is compound movements, heavier weights and more rest between sets. This is ideal for the start of a fight camp – the first four to eight weeks. 

• Phase 2 is explosive power. 

Plyometric exercises and ballistic-type movements like box jumps, kettlebell snatches, plyo push-ups, etc. This would be the next four to six weeks 

of camp. 

• Phase 3 is gas in the tank. Use sport-specific circuit training that mimics the fight using bands, med balls, drills and skills in a timed fashion. At this phase we want to help drop weight and maintain muscle mass.

These workouts are short, intense and burn a lot of calories. I saw one UFC fighter burn 475 calories in 17 minutes and we weren’t even killing it.

SHORT-NOTICE FIGHT

When I first had a six-week turnaround for a fight, I conceived the concept of the MMA hybrid. This was a combination of explosive power and gas in the tank. This way we kept the speed up, helped drop the weight and kept strength up. 

6 weeks out MMA Hybrid 

It really works to get a fighter’s body and metabolism on its toes. We would do three rounds of all the exercises.

Explosive Power: 20-30 seconds each with 20-30 seconds rest. 

1. Water Jug snatches

This is quite a challenge with a five-gallon jug. I want you to hit as many muscles and stabilizers as possible.

2. Trampoline power jumps 

This is more of a low-impact exercise compared to the old-school box jumps. They’ll keep you injury free and build explosive leg strength.

3. Med-ball chest pass

This is an excellent upper-body power and punching-mechanics drill.

4. Med-ball side tosses

This is an awesome drill for explosive core strength.

Gas in the tank: 35 seconds each with 

15 seconds rest.

5. Cage crush

Have a partner press down on you with a stability ball against the cage. 

6. Ballast ball 

Thai clinch blaster

Grab a stability ball or BOSU ballast ball and rest your elbows on it. As you pull the ball into your gut, blast it with a knee.

7. Suspension trainer 

Clinch Rippers 

This is an awesome drill for grip and pulling work. Alternate pulling one handle to your shoulder on one side and extending your arm on the other side.

8. Elbows in the guard

Fire elbows off as you would in the cage with a med ball or kicking shield between 

your legs.