The weight cut issues in mixed martial arts do not seem to be getting any better. On October 2nd, one day prior to UFC 192 and only one day after USADA implemented its ban on IVs, the UFC announced that the UFC 192 co-main event between former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley was cancelled due to Hendricks’ inability to make weight. This was a high profile fight with significance in the welterweight division. The UFC announced that this was a number one contender’s match, and it was one of the more closely matched and intriguing fights on the card, but a few hours before weigh-ins, it was scrapped.
The carelessness and unprofessionalism that Johny Hendricks displayed cannot be overlooked. Every comment, tweet, and article shaming him for this was deserved. Sure, he lost out on a paycheck and an opportunity to re-challenge for the belt, and jis punishment has already been handed, but when the fight is of this caliber and magnitude, the disappointment will be clearly expressed and the uproar is soundly justified. There were no winners from this scenario: the fans lost out on a big fight in a market that had major interest, the UFC wasted money on their promotion of the fight, and even Tyron Woodley who is conditionally being given the title shot for making the weight is still losing.
Woodley is one of the most unfortunate and bizarre predicaments in recent MMA history. His last fight against Kelvin Gastelum is a fight that should not have occurred because Gastelum was sick on fight week and came in ten pounds overweight. The weight cut for Woodley can’t be much easier than it is for Hendricks, Woodley’s very heavily built, but has always made weight and has been public about the manners in which he diets. There’s no excuse for Hendricks’ actions, this isn’t his first rodeo and it’s also not the first time he’s had weight problems. His first fight with Robbie Lawler was almost made a non-title fight for him because he came in overweight on the initial attempt, and in the subsequent rematch he hit the mark but looked skeletal and suffered greatly in the latter portion of the fight, ultimately costing him the title.
To the UFC’s credit, they are rightly compensating Woodley for honoring the bout agreement by giving him his show money and non-commitally giving him a title fight, but this still isn’t an ideal scenario for the man. Woodley’s last fight was in January, welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is scheduled to face Carlos Condit on New Year’s weekend 2016, so if all goes according to plan, Woodley will stay healthy and the winner of Lawler/Condit comes out relatively unscathed, the best case scenario for his title shot is around April of next year. The circumstances that would have to occur for Woodley to get a timely title shot are so unlikely it’s laughable. On paper, Lawler vs. Condit has the potential be the most violent fight ever booked in MMA history, and that is not hyperbole. Both men enjoy and excel in bloody, grueling fights, both are tougher than a coffin nail, and Lawler’s one punch knockout ability combined with Condit’s penchant for using knees and elbows all but assures this fight will be grimy, nasty and nothing short of a prison yard brawl. Even if this fight ends in a first round knockout or submission, the likelihood that the winner will come out undamaged is still extremely unlikely given that neither man puts a great emphasis on defense, especially when going for the kill. In addition to having to wait a less than ideal amount of time for a title shot that is not assured, Woodley lost an opportunity to get a big payday.
Woodley has already publicly voiced that he felt he should’ve been awarded his win bonus because only getting his show money is the equivalent of a loss. Fair point, it’s sort of difficult to argue with that but one other factor that is undeniable is the losing of any potential bonuses. Woodley has dynamite in his hands and if he were able to pull off the upset against Hendricks especially in impressive fashion, a bonus check would’ve been almost assured. In the end, Woodley has no laurels to rest on and is left with a lack for motivation, even if it is a small amount of motivation that is lacking. Although it seems that this was a rather unfortunate night for a pair of welterweights that might be swept under the rug and forgotten, the timing of it makes it feel like there are bigger problems ahead.
The IV ban is here and it’s changing the game, the fights last weekend were fun, compelling and entertaining, but was this just an outlier? Moreover, how many fighters are still using IVs regardless of the ban? USADA tests for the use of IVs by analyzing blood samples. When an IV is administered, residue from the plastic will appear in the sample, but there’s been rumors of fighters using a glass container instead of a plastic bag to avoid evidence of IV administration. Seems simple enough, and if this is a fool proof method to beat the test then fighters can go about using IVs as usual, but that seems unlikely. Many fighters will undoubtedly fear the risk of getting caught and wouldn’t want to put their livelihood in jeopardy for two years, and who knows how advanced USADA’s testing is, can become, or if they’ll even announce that IV use can be detected through other measures.
I had stated previously that the UFC/USADA drug testing era will be one of the most trying for all spectators of mixed martial arts in an article which you can read HERE, and there are no inclinations to conclude otherwise. USADA’s IV ban is actually quite the catch-22 for the people advocating for a clean sport. The ones who support stricter drug testing are primarily asking for a level playing field and above all else, a safer atmosphere for athletes to compete in. The IV ban is a bit of a paradox on the safety first spectrum. On one hand, the ban is a precautionary measure to ensure athletes won’t dilute their samples to mask PED use by taking an IV. On the other, not allowing fighters to rehydrate intravenously is a serious oversight when taking their safety into account. IVs allow fighters to rehydrate faster and more efficiently, particularly pertaining to the liquid in one’s head. The weight cutting issue has never been at the forefront of MMA discussion as it is now, but maybe this isn’t the correct angle, maybe the issue of the entire sport needs to be called into question.
Arkansas was the first state in the nation to attempt to address the issue of extreme weight cutting in mixed martial arts by measuring the percentage of weight lost at weigh-ins and fight day, and it looks like California might be next. There seems to be a growing consensus amongst many athletic commissions that addressing the weight cut issue as early as possible by overseeing it and regulating it at the amateur level. It’s a good idea in theory, but it seems like there is a bit of an oversight when it comes to the prototypical mixed martial artist. Wrestling is many fighters’ base when coming into MMA, and wrestling is notorious for it’s athletes cutting tremendous amounts of weight. Extreme weight cutting is a troubling topic with a limited amount of practical and efficient solutions. It’s a problem that may never get totally resolved and that’s unfortunate. The creation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a bit of an infomercial on the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. It changed the world of martial arts because this crazy experiment actually showed what was the most practical weapon. There’s been much talk of how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu no longer serves a real purpose in modern MMA and that’s nonsense. The beauty of Jiu-Jitsu is that a smaller person can defeat a bigger, stronger person unlike most other martial arts.
It seems there’s a strong desire for athletes to be bigger, and hopefully things like the amateur weight cut program can help future generations to alter this line of thought. Dramatic weight cutting is not a necessary evil, and the sad and worrying truth is that bad weight cuts may be more likely to cause a death in the cage than a performance enhancing drug. History has shown this to be the case and it has already happened, let it just not happen on the big show for us to come back around to this topic in the near future.
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