Eubank Jr. (left) put his health at risk to make the middleweight limit.
fighter Yang Jian Bing died from heart failure during a severe weight cut. UFC fighter Renan Barao fainted while cutting weight ahead of UFC 177, hit his head and was pulled from the card. Khabib Nurmagomedov had to withdraw from UFC 209 when he was hospitalized due to extreme dehydration and severe complications from a weight cut. Gerald McClellan was known for severe weight cuts. After losing a significant amount of weight in camp for his fight against Nigel Benn in 1995, McClellan took a knee in the 10th round and collapsed after returning to his corner, losing consciousness due to a severe brain injury. It’s true we don’t know if McClellan’s weight cut contributed to his brain bleed, but it’s likely it played a role. The brain is the last to be affected by dehydration, and fighters sometimes assume that rapidly replacing fluids by fight time – either by oral hydration or illegal IV hydration – resolves any negative effects from the weight cut. NOT TRUE! At least 75% of your brain is made up of water. A 2005 study by Dunning et al. using MRI showed that dehydration over a 16-hour period led to reduction in total brain volume. Less brain volume size can increase the risk of brain bleeding due to the “bridging veins” (tiny vessels connecting the brain to its covering) that undergo increased stretching when the head is struck. By fight time, a boxer’s brain may still be water-deficient. In 2017, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) acted quickly to make changes when three college wrestlers died within a six- week period. They prohibited the use of rubber suits, diuretics and saunas. A seven-pound weight allowance was added to all weight classes, and weigh-ins were to be held no more than two hours before a match. More restrictions and regulations were added later, including limits on the amount a wrestler could lose per week. Athletes underwent hydration tests to establish how concentrated their urine was – a
common indicator of dehydration. Severe suspensions were given for offenses related to weight, and wrestlers would undergo body fat tests at the beginning of the year, with the lowest allowable weight at 5% body fat. The WBC expanded weight-check rules for title fights. Fighters are required to weigh in 30 days and 7 days before a bout and to be only a certain percentage above the division weight limit. In 2019, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN that fighters must disclose their precise weight at the time of signing for a bout, and a 14-day weight check was added. Thirty days out, a fighter cannot be more than 10% over the division weight, 5% 14 days out and 3% seven days before the fight. Punishments can include increasing the sanctioning fee or even withdrawing the sanction altogether. In an interview with MMA Junkie in 2018, CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster stated: “The weigh-in should not be more dangerous than the fight.” When a fighter misses weight by a significant amount or it’s determined that they need to move up in weight class, Foster will often add a red flag to BoxRec (the record-keeping system for commissions) noting that a boxer can no longer compete at a specific weight in his jurisdiction. And the boxer may not show up on fight night more than 10% over their contracted weight. Some may ask why a commission or sanctioning body should have a role in weight management as long as the fighter makes weight at the weigh-in. But a boxing license is not a right, and a fighter must demonstrate they’re fit to compete. That includes making weight and fighting in the appropriate weight class. Greg Sirb, former Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) president, current consultant and former executive director to the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission, has always been a believer of day-of-the-fight weigh-ins: “Yes, there will be a growing period of 6-8 months, but then it will be done.” Sirb, who continues to advise NCAA wrestling, notes that it works at the
collegiate level: “MMA fighters are a little better than boxers, as they know how to cut weight, as many started in wrestling or jiu-jitsu. Boxers don’t appreciate that 90% of the weight they gain after the weigh-in is water weight.” Boxers who think prohibited intravenous (IV) rehydration is the answer often don’t realize that too much fluid can also be dangerous. Water intoxication or hyponatremia (low sodium) can actually cause the brain to swell and result in death. Seems as though those recommending IVs to fighters don’t mention that risk! Foster, in a presentation to the ABC in 2018, stated that inaction by regulators combined with the culture has allowed the problem of dangerous weight-cutting to grow. “Athletes are weighing in in one weight class and competing potentially two to four weight classes higher – even in some cases different weight classes from their opponent.” “Unlike any other sport, there’s a lot of looking the other way to make a compromise,” says Sirb. “Television or pay-per-view fights tie your hands, but 2025 is the time to solve it. But everyone has to buy in.” Foster still supports day-before weigh-ins but recommends a fight day weigh-in to ensure the competitors haven’t gained more than 10% of their weight from the day before. In my humble opinion, a novel idea might be for fighters to compete in the correct weight class; not balloon up between bouts; not use training camp as a “fat farm”; never use boxing as a hobby – it’s a full-time job irrespective of how many times they compete in a year. And lastly, look to fighters like Floyd Mayweather or Bernard Hopkins who always maintained their weight. Dr. Margaret Goodman is a former Nevada State Athletic Commission chief physician, co-hosts the Fighter Health and Safety Podcast and is president of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
although victorious, spent two days in the hospital recovering. Yes, it was a tough bout that both competitors endured, but how much was making weight a factor? There are many health and performance issues related to cutting weight. We’ve all heard the horror stories of fighters nearly passing out on the scale in an attempt to make weight by using laxatives, saunas, plastic suits, starvation, severe fluid restriction and even prohibited diuretics. This dehydration causes symptoms of headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, extreme fatigue, dark yellow/amber or even brown-colored urine, decreased skin elasticity, dry lips/gums/ nostrils, low blood pressure, confusion, thirst and sunken eyes/face. On a more serious level, it can produce slowed reflexes, impaired decision-making or mental fog. The risk of arrhythmia and even heart failure increases with strain on the fighter’s liver/kidneys and can result in long-term organ damage. In a 2020 study published in the journal Sports (Basel) by Cannataro, et al., the researchers examined the acute effects of making weight in Muay Thai fighters. There was skeletal muscle damage and a significant decrease in testosterone in men after rapid weight loss that continued after the athletes regained weight! The same was seen in thyroid hormone, which took more than 15 days in men and 25 days in women to recover. Symptoms of low thyroid include fatigue, weight gain, slowed heart rate and even heart disease. The researchers felt that rapid weight loss and subsequent weight gain could be harmful, possibly causing permanent hormone changes, even if done only two to three times/year. In 2015, ONE Championship MMA
FIGHT DOCTOR WEIGHING THE RISKS
By Dr. Margaret Goodman O nce upon a time, boxers would step on the scale, meet their contracted weight, then climb in the ring a few hours later. Reasonable concerns were raised due to the risk of severe dehydration. As a result, the weigh-in was moved to the day before the fight to improve fighter safety by providing athletes 24 hours to rehydrate. Although the shift was well-intentioned, it has been bastardized to such a degree that it’s not unusual to see fighters weigh in 36 hours before the event and then show up on fight night more than 15% above their contractual weight. That increase would turn a junior middleweight into a light heavyweight.
Weight classes serve a purpose. Does ballooning up in weight help or hinder a fighter’s performance? Is it fair or dangerous? Would we see better fights if the boxers fought at the appropriate weight for their size? Can it affect a fighter’s long-term health? You don’t have to look further than Chris Eubank Jr., who initially weighed 160.2 pounds and then rehydrated to 169.4 (a 6% increase) for his last bout with Conor Benn. During a recent Men’s Health Podcast, he stated: “No fighter wants to make weight. It’s a lot easier for some than others, but it’s a horrific thing … having to dehydrate, starve and wear sweatsuits and saunas and all the things that come with having to deplete your body.” Eubank,
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