Michael Tencza

Weight Cutting in Combat Sports

Combat sports such as boxing, MMA(mixed martial arts), and wrestling implement a
weight class system where competitors are matched up with individuals of similar size and
stature (through the measurement of bodily mass at a certain point before competition) in order
to eliminate any innate size advantages and allow the contest to be decided by skill. While a
necessary and smart concept, it is easily taken advantage of by hyper competitive athletes
looking to gain any edge over the competition, even at the expense of their health. By cutting
weight or rapid body mass loss (RBML) athletes try to lose as much weight as possible before
the weigh in with the intention of gaining most of it back after the weigh in and coming into the
contest much heavier than their opponent, a massive advantage. Unfortunately, such extreme
RBML measures, especially before an intense and potentially violent contest, can be potentially
dangerous to the health of the athletes and even hinder their performance. Research into these
questions is sparked by numerous cases of hospitalized or even dead athletes following severe
RBML procedures, making it vital to the longevity and safety of athletes involved, as well as the
future development and sustainability of such combat sports.
Although dropping upwards of 20 lbs in the day or two before a very intense contest
might seem nonsensical, with stakes such as millions of dollars and olympic gold medals on the
line it has turned into a standard practice. Such RBML is done using tried and tested methods
involving a lead up period wherein the athlete cuts body fat and then performs water and salt
manipulations the few days before the competition. According to Langan-Evans,et al., in a
summary of weight cutting studies Making Weight in Combat Sports, a variety of different
studies across multiple sports (Judo,Boxing,Taekwondo,Wrestling) revealed that the majority of

subjects participated in some form of RBML procedures through a combination of techniques

such as gradual dieting, increased exercise, and closer to the weigh in, fasting, and dehydration
through restricted water intake and the use of saunas and sweatsuits. While the amount of weight
cut depends on the format of the sports weigh ins, as well as depending on whether the athletes
weigh in a few hours before the contest, a few minutes before the contest, or over 24 hours
before, nearly all the top level athletes in the studies cut some amount of weight, showing that in
order to not be at a weight disadvantage by default, athletes must cut some amount of weight and
are effectively discouraged from competing at their healthy walk around weight.
It is established that combat sports athletes engage in RBML tactics in large numbers and
on a frequent basis, but pertinent to the discussion of the place of weight cutting in these sports is
exactly how dehydrated and starved are the athletes at the time of competition. MMA is a sport
involving many techniques and skillsets borrowed from combat sports (the most common being
boxing and wrestling) across the board due to its very unrestrictive rules and so it is a good
candidate for the examination of such weight cutting. In a study, Dehydration and Acute
Weight Gain in Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Before Competition done by Jetton, et al., a group
of 40 MMA fighters were tested through urine for hydration and body mass status both 24 hours
before the fight (around weigh-in time) and 2 hours before the fight. What the experiment
showed was that on average the fighters gained nearly 5% of their body weight in the 22 hours
between the two testing times, so for a 200lb fighter, he would lose an unknown amount of
weight in the days before the weigh in and then put on 10lbs in the time after the weigh in,
showing some of the effectiveness of weight cutting, since in some sports 10lbs is the difference
between one or more weight classes. Revealed in these urine tests was that nearly 40% of the
tested fighters were seriously dehydrated at the 2 hour mark before their fights, indicating that a

large portion of MMA fighters compete while under such conditions and rehydration techniques
after weight cutting might not be as successful or safe as thought by many athletes and coaches
engaging in the practice. One flaw in the study could be the small number of MMA fighters
analyzed in the sample, as well as their experience levels, as high level competitors could
potentially be able to rehydrate more efficiently with access to better methods and trainers than
local MMA fighters so the study has a potential to not be indicative of the sport as a whole.
Knowing that many athletes enter their competitions severely dehydrated, the next step is
to understand exactly how dangerous this dehydration is, as a fighter entering a ring or cage to
potentially be knocked unconscious with blows might not be supremely concerned about being
thirsty for a few hours, unless this dehydration had massive health risks. In a large
comprehensive study, Weight loss in combat sports: physiological, psychological and
performance effects , performed over multiple sports with large (100-800) sample sizes by
Franchini,et al., one aspect that was measured following RBML was the detrimental
psychological effects of being weak and severely dehydrated. It was reported that athletes had
increased confusion, rage, fatigue, and depression, all of which hamper performance and could
affect the athletes mental wellbeing. In addition, the heavy dieting practices in addition to the
psychological effects of RBML could lead to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia which
are most certainly harmful to an athletes long term health. Another aspect studied was the more
direct physical consequences of weight cutting, which include a general loss in both
aerobic(cardio) and anaerobic(strength) related performance due in part to dehydration and
depleted glycogen stores in muscles, and in an extreme cases can result in death, such as the
mentioned 1997 three collegiate wrestlers deaths attributed to RBML. In another study The
effect of conventional methods of bodyweight reduction on overall sense of well-being, body

composition and anaerobic capacity of athletes practicing selected combat sports by DurkalecMinchalski et al. , 23 well trained (4+ years) athletes practicing boxing and wrestling were
examined during and after RBML through dehydration and caloric restriction and it was also
found that the athletes suffered from psychological symptoms such as depression and dizziness
as well as decreases in power and anaerobic function.
Despite having clear medical repercussions , a major question exists in the examination
of weight cutting; does it work, or is it simply the culture of such sports and the habits of the
athletes and coaches that promotes RBML tactics. In addition, it is also very important to
understand whether the extra weight can outweigh(no pun intended) the damage being done to
the athletes body as well as their performance in competition. According to Franchini et al., the
answer appears to be yes, as in the study a portion was dedicated to analyzing the success rates
of athletes and it was found that in wrestling for example, over half (58%) of olympic medalists
had not followed the minimum wrestling weight recommendations, i.e. they cut an excessive
amount of weight. Similarly, very dominant combat sport athletes such as Georges St. Pierre
(MMA) are reported to cut large amounts of weight, and regain over 20 lbs from the weigh in to
competition time, leading to a visible size and strength difference between fighters in the cage
(Hendricks) .While an interesting correlation, success at the highest level of a sport is a very
difficult thing to quantify, as it simply could just be that the athletes that put themselves through
hell making weight, also have that same focus and discipline in their training and work harder
than the athletes that cut less weight; it could be a reflection of their state of mind and
competitive attitudes. What gives more insight into the success of RBML practices however, is
the scientific facets of athleticism and how they are affected post weight regain , as an athlete
with slightly diminished strength but an extra 20 lbs might have a big advantage over a full

strength normal weight athlete. According to Reljic et al., in Rapid body mass loss affects
erythropoiesis and hemolysis but does not impair aerobic performance in combat athletes, as the
title suggests, weight cutting does have some effect to body functionality but doesnt affect
cardiovascular levels much, as shown by their testing on the hemoglobin (oxygen carrying part
of a red blood cell) levels of elite boxers who had decreases in areas but with VO2max and other
cardiovascular measures of fitness staying near the same.
In conclusion, the literature on the subject demonstrates a few important things: a good
percentage of combat sports athletes engage in RBML on a regular competition basis, RBML
leads to severe dehydration and reduced body function in some areas, that severe dehydration
can and does lead to serious health issues including death, and that RBML is performed because
despite the risks, it does in fact work. From this knowledge, the ruling bodies of combat sports
can implement rule changes to discourage the practice of weight cutting such as hydration tests
before competition, multiple weigh ins scheduled weeks before the contest, or other necessary
minimums of health and fitness to ensure that these sports remain safe and legitimate for future
generations of athletes and spectators.

Works Cited
Jetton, Adam M., Marcus M. Lawrence, Marco Meucci, Tracie L. Haines, Scott R. Collier, David M.
Morris, and Alan C. Utter. "Dehydration and Acute Weight Gain in Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Before
Competition." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 27.5 (2013): 1322-326. Web. 10 Oct.
2016.
Durkalec-Michalski, Krzysztof, Izabela Gociaska, Jan Jeszka, and Tomasz Podgrski. "The Effect
of Conventional Methods of Body Weight Reduction on Overall Sense of Well-being, Body
Composition and Anaerobic Capacity of Athletes Practicing Selected Combat Sports." Journal of
Combat Sports and Martial Arts 5 (2014): 89-95. Web.
Reljic, D., J. Jost, M. Kieser, and B. Friedmann-Bette. "Rapid Body Mass Loss Affects Erythropoiesis
and Hemolysis but Does Not Impair Aerobic Performance in Combat Athletes." Scandinavian
Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 26 (2016): 507-17. Print.
Franchini, Emerson, Ciro Jose Brito, and Guilherme Giannini Artoli. "Weight Loss in Combat Sports:
Physiological, Psychological and Performance Effects." Journal of the International Society of Sports
Nutrition 9.52 (2012): n. pag. Print.
Langan-Evans, Carl, BSc, Graeme L. Close, PhD, and James P. Morton, PhD. "Making Weight in
Combat Sports." Strength and Conditioning Journal 3.6 (2011): n. pag. Print.
Sports, By Maggie Hendricks Yahoo! "The Secrets behind GSP's Weight-cutting (and Gaining)
Success | The Dolce Diet." The Dolce Diet RSS2. N.p., 12 June 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.