Is cutting weight cheating?

**TheLordHumungus** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 12:07am

Open weight division would be hardcore. Always fun to watch in judo. Amazing what an incredibly skilled lighter guy can do.

**Anna Kovacs** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 12:07am

The reason weigh-ins are the day before the fight is because if you book a big fight for millons of dollars and then one competitor steps on the scale overweight as they're walking to the ring and the SAC says" no fight" you, promoter, are just straight up fucked.

Weighing in right before the fight when there's no money involved is one thing. When your expensive card can come crashing down around you when a couple fighters flub weight it's quite another.

PS: Cutting weight sucks, if anything I feel disadvantaged when I have to cut weight. I can do 3 pounds or so but anything more then that leaves me wrecked for days.

**TheLordHumungus** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 1:52am

Originally Posted by AnnaTrocity

The reason weigh-ins are the day before the fight is because if you book a big fight for millons of dollars and then one competitor steps on the scale overweight as they're walking to the ring and the SAC says" no fight" you, promoter, are just straight up fucked.

Weighing in right before the fight when there's no money involved is one thing. When your expensive card can come crashing down around you when a couple fighters flub weight it's quite another.

PS: Cutting weight sucks, if anything I feel disadvantaged when I have to cut weight. I can do 3 pounds or so but anything more then that leaves me wrecked for days.

No doubt. That's why I mentioned the promoter would have to be cool with it. Its just that I think 'day of' weigh ins are the only answer if you're that obsessed with making weight.

**jvjim** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 3:02am

I'm seriously considering some pretty drastic weight cutting measures for my first BJJ competition. I'm not so much worried about the moral implications as I am about dieing and brain damage.

**Zaii** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 1:08pm

Really, all this talk about cutting being part of the fabric of the sport is irrelevant. If it's unethical or unhealthy, it doesn't matter if it's a common or longstanding. It needs to be evaluated on its own merits.

Exactly. Thanks for cutting to it. I'm really glad to see healthy discussion on this. There's usually a knee-jerk reaction whenever anyone questions the implications of shedding weight.

For the record I'm not 100% against the concept and practice of weight cutting, however I do think it needs to be seriously examined as objectively as possible.

The unfortunate thing to me is that it's so prevalent that a person is nearly obligated to practice it in order to level the playing field. Then again there are various instances of people being drastically outweighed and still performing well or even ultimately prevailing, but it's still lame that the **** rolls downhill.

***JohnnyCache*** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 2:58pm

I think in a perfect world, everyone would perform at their "real" weight, their walking weight. The problem is, moving weigh-ins to the day of the fight won't eliminate weight cutting as a game, it will just up the stakes of it for both promoter and fighter. I would like to see a pre-fight weigh, just so the onlookers can understand the value of cutting weight to fighters - when they realize that frank mir weighs 255 all the time, for example, and Brock Lesnar is probably back up around 300 when he enters the ring, that would at least factor into their evalutation.

Ultimately, this debate is one reason why other sports have so many weight brackets, particularly for am. fighters.

I would really like to see this problem "solved" but I can't imagine a better system than what we've got...

also, cutting weight is hard. It's a real genetic attribute and a real facet of the team and athlete. If cutting weight is legal, a guy who cuts 10+ percent of his bodyweight (like brock lesnar or GSP) is putting himself through the fucking wringer to do it, and taking a huge performance gamble so I don't consider it "easy" or a "cheat"

I was live for Joe Lauzon vs Ken Florian and I thought Joe was a LOCK to win because at the weigh-in Florian very nearly could not walk. That he came back from that state to do an MMA fight, that tells me as much or more about his heart, dedication, and resilience as seeing him take a punch.

I do think it's probably not great for fighters to do this routinely or long term, but it would be less healthy to have them try it day of - and they would. The mentality of pro atheletes is borderline insanity.

**DSL** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 3:26pm

Good point on seeing the day-of weight, that would be a cool thing to add to like 'The Tale of the Tape' etc.
IE: Brock Lesnar: Age 32, Reach: 81", Weight 265 (277), Record: 5-1-0

**PimpDawg** · Posted On: 7/17/2009 10:43pm

Originally Posted by jvjim

I'm seriously considering some pretty drastic weight cutting measures for my first BJJ competition. I'm not so much worried about the moral implications as I am about dieing and brain damage.

I would caution you on that. I just did my first and weight cutting didn't go so well for me. I only cut 3 pounds, but not eating and drinking made my feel dizzy and weak. I felt sick for a week. For my next comp I'm going to try to permanently lose the weight and maintain it.

I would recommend not cutting weight for your first competition unless you've cut weight before. Some people are good at it, some (like me) aren't. You're going to be going through enough just competing, without your body being sick. My point is that since I'm not good at it, cutting weight is for homos.