What happens if a fighter doesnt make weight

As far as losing weight to drop in weight class is concerned, it is even more straining. Usually, their diet would mostly consist of protein and fat with a very little salt and no fruits or sugar.

Naturally, the process of cutting weight comes with its risks, which can only be minimized if you are cutting weight sustainably with professional help.

Here is the article that explains a weight loss process step by step. It is physically possible for a fighter to lose up to 30 pounds in 48 hours before the fight. While some fighters cut a few pounds of weight to fight in divisions close to their actual weight, others drop weight drastically to have a size advantage over their opponents.

Using your weight as a tactic to get the upper hand is very common in a sport like boxing. While some boxers would lose 30 pounds before a weigh-in and gain it back by the time the fight day comes, others would just gain extra weight on the fight day. An example would be Tyson Fury drinking gallons of water before weighing in to gain a psychological advantage over Deontay Wilder in their recent bout.

Although there is no set amount of weight a boxer has to lose for a weigh-in, a boxer weighing pounds at the weigh-in may weigh pounds on the fight day. Gaining weight before a fight is much easier when compared to losing weight. After losing a considerable amount of weight before a weigh-in, fighters undertake an intense rehydration and food intake program one day before the fight.

Not only does this involve massive intakes of water, but it also includes intake of top-notch sports drinks. Simultaneously their diet to gain weight is one with high carbohydrates to make sure their energy is restored for the fight. Although not as risky as losing weight, the process of gaining weight can also cause fighters to fall ill after drinking huge sips of water constantly. That could be an advantage. The last example is happening now. Paulo Costa is fighting Marvin Vettori this coming Saturday.

Costa knew he was coming in heavy. He fessed up and asked for a catchweight. This is both saving him the agony of cutting too much and the loss of money by giving up a percentage of his purse. The UFC granted a catchweight of pounds, which has since been bumped up to pounds.

Now could every fighter start asking for this treatment? Thanks for visiting MMANews. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Google News. Colby Covington. MMA News. Sign in. So, how do UFC fighters cut weight? There are three main steps in how UFC fighters cut weight in only a few days before their match. First, they gradually dehydrate for five days, leading to no water on weigh-in day.

Second, they avoid carbs and salt, and third, they sweat a lot. The advanced nutrition and medical care that professional fighters have at their disposal lead to the weight-cutting trend. Doing some research on the subject, I learned the key steps that fighters like Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, or Darren Till take to make their weight class limits.

You should never do this on your own. As I mentioned, fighters do three crucial things: manipulate body hydration, use saunas, hot baths, and plastic jumpsuits to sweat excessive liquid out, and stay on a strict no-carbs, no-salt diet.

As a result, you get fighters that naturally have, for instance, lbs, fight in the welterweight category lbs limit. As soon as they are done with the scale, they rehydrate and come back to , lbs, giving them a considerable size advantage over their opponent. It varies from fighter to fighter. The average weight cut of UFC fighters is around pounds in the last five days before the weigh-in. These average weight cuts vary from category to category.

Usually, smaller fighters that compete in the flyweight or bantamweight divisions shed fewer pounds. As you go up to heavier classes, more rigorous weight cuts are happening.

The reason behind that is logical and straightforward. Losing that kind of weight by dehydration can cause serious health problems, including organ failure and even death. There are fighters such as TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo that do drop that kind of weight, but they start dieting a lot earlier to minimize the amount of weight they cut in the final dehydration process.

Even then, they often have difficulty making weight. To conclude, an average fighter cuts lbs, although more and more fighters cut upwards of 30 lbs. Even some heavyweight fighters cut weight to make the heavyweight limit, such as Derrick Lewis and Mark Hunt.

If the bout was for a championship, the fighter who failed to make weight will be ineligible to compete for the title. If a fighter fails to make weight on many occasions, they may be forced to move up in weight or be removed from the UFC.

We will go through the ramifications of losing weight and why it happens in the rest of this article, but before anything, let us start with the rules of weight limits. On the morning of the bout, each UFC competitor must weigh in at or below the weight class they are competing for.

This ten-point strategy, for example, was adopted in California in to help ease severe weight loss. The UFC, in collaboration with the Athletic Commission for the state in which the bout takes place, has settled on this proportion.

This happens when a boxer misses weight by a substantial amount, generally more than two pounds. However, this is a case-by-case decision that must be made by both the UFC and the sanctioning authority for the bout. Non-championship fights feature a one-pound weight allowance, which means a fighter can be one pound over the weight class limit and still be deemed on-weight.