Author: Anton Tabuena

A doctor says it’s “ridiculously easy” to cheat ONE Championship’s system claimed to have supposedly solved weight cutting.

In 2015, Chinese fighter Yang Jian Bing passed away, reportedly due to a bad weight cut for a bout in ONE Championship. Less than two weeks after his death, the promotion instilled a new weight cutting policy that involved hydration testing, multiple weigh-ins, and renaming divisions.

ONE Championship’s been known to push hyperbole and questionable claims, and what first seemed like a quick way to avoid bad PR in China and the rest of Asia, was eventually marketed as a “revolutionary system” that supposedly solved a longstanding issue in MMA and combat sports.

“We don’t use the term weight cutting because there is no cutting,” ONE VP Rich Franklin boasted in 2017.

ONE executives, fighters, and even personalities like Joe Rogan have since advocated for it to be widely adopted in MMA, but is this system actually as good as they say it is?

Well, apart from a very concerning lack of transparency for years, there’s really been numerous situations with fighters dropping multiple divisions and admitting to cutting weight. There’s also horror stories of repeated cutting and hydrating throughout the day, allegedly under advice of ONE officials.

Numerous experts on the field were interviewed by Jason Hartley of MMA on Point on this matter, including Dr. Oliver Barley, who has published multiple research papers on sports science, hydration, and weight cutting specifically for combat sports. Barley, who holds a master’s degree and PhD in exercise physiology, believes that ONE Championship’s weight cutting policy and hydration testing is “not good” at all.

“Right now, the usage of hydration testing, especially urine testing, in trying to regulate weight cutting is a unanimous bad, a unanimous negative,” Dr. Barley told Hartley.

“People don’t really trust ONE Championship’s weight cutting policy, and I think it’s their public image overall. I think people do see it as dubious,” he said. “Now if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”

According to Barley, who has written papers on the matter, the science just isn’t there when it comes to hydration testing and its accuracy, especially for athletes. He also has an issue with ONE Championship’s lack of transparency, along with the promotion using what he calls an “arbitrary” cut-off limit of 1.025 to mark those who are “dehydrated.”

“I’m not convinced that urinary test hydration testing is a great measure in almost any situation, but I am extremely not convinced that it’s useful in the case of weight cutting,” he said, pointing out how these tests were only made for patients in a hospital setting. “These hydration tests were not designed for someone who is going to specifically aggressively dehydrate themselves and then rehydrate themselves.

“If we pulled in 100 people off the street, my guess is 40 percent of them would probably fail a urinary hydration test. People typically walk around, according to a urinary test, with at least some mild to moderate dehydration,” he said. “There’s actually a good chance that you’ll be declared dehydrated even if you’re not.

“The thing that confuses me the most, is that (ONE) had years where I was not aware of a single fight being canceled due to urinary hydration test failing, which to me is so unbelievable that I don’t even know how to describe it,” Dr. Barley said.

In a separate video, nutritionist Tom Coughlin also brought up other studies that discussed the “problematic” use of hydration tests for sports. He pointed out how the test can have a number of factors to give an inaccurate result such as diet, drug interactions, and muscle mass, and how it needs far more research before being implemented in sports.

Apart from detailing how these tests clearly aren’t fit for weight cutting scenarios, Dr. Barley also described how it is also “ridiculously easy” to cheat. Interestingly enough, he even admits to helping some “big names” in ONE pass hydration tests even with weight cuts.

“I’ve been involved in helping fighters trick this test. It’s not been difficult, at all,” he admitted.

“Tricking the test is super easy,” Dr. Barley explains. He says it simply has to do with drinking distilled water at certain points to trick your body in thinking you’re over-hydrated. “You put the fluid back in but not the electrolytes, so then the concentration of your blood really plummets and the kidneys actually think you’re over-hydrated and they start emptying urine out and the urine comes out clear.

“It’s ridiculously easy. Currently, I am batting 100 percent in getting people to trick the test. I have (a short) instruction thing on my phone that I just copy and paste and send it to them whenever anyone asks me.”

As for why he is willing to share and expose these details now, Barley hopes that revealing its significant flaws just gets the entire system changed.

“The fact is, huge amounts of athletes are doing it anyway, and as these tests get bigger and bigger, people are going to work out how to do it. Me telling everyone how to do it just rips that band-aid off, and moves us away from an ineffective solution, and tries to make us do something more productive,” he said.

“People are going to make larger cuts (knowing that) that they can trick these tests.”

ONE Championships also has a rule that fighters are only allowed to gain 5% of their weight on fight day. That follow up weigh-in is also concerning for health and safety, according to Barley, as it could lead to people not recovering properly.

“They just eat food, they’re already at that five percent,” Barley stated. “You’ve (also) reduced someone’s rehydration. They’re not going to rehydrate as well, and then what you get are people competing possibly more dehydrated than they would have been if you just let them cut the weight and not check them a second time.”

As for anyone saying “then don’t just cut weight,” Barley responds that the problem isn’t simple and fighters are always going to look for an edge.

“Talk to a fighter. It is obvious that they will sacrifice a lot to win. They will sacrifice a lot more than being kinda hungry, or being slightly dehydrated. Relative to everything they do, that’s tiny. Relative to the pain they put themselves through in training, the pain they go through in fighting, the discipline and effort they have to have — this is nothing to them.

“Also, this runs the risk of making fighters think they’re smarter by tricking it. Going ‘you know what, everyone else is now probably cutting less weight, so if I do it and I trick the test, I will now get a bigger advantage.’”

At the end of the day, weight cutting is a complex problem in combat sports. As Dr. Barley and others explained, it certainly wasn’t magically solved by a policy seemingly rushed out less than two weeks after a tragic death.

“How could 12 days possibly be enough time? While hydration tests sound like they fit the bill perfectly, almost like a great marketing slogan — I mean it’s called hydration testing, it just sounds good — but nothing I’m able to find on this subject backs up those claims,” Hartley concluded in his report.

“With the confounding factors surrounding the testing methods, relative ease of being able to game the system, and the subsequent dangers around manipulating electrolyte balance, (ONE’s system) poses its own very real set of risks,” Coughlin stated. “This is not the fix that MMA has been asking for.”

“The problem is that everybody wants simple answers to complicated questions,” Dr. Barley said. “Hydration testing is a relatively simple answer to what people think is a simple problem, but it’s actually an extremely complicated problem.”

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About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)

This is UFC 284 in a few short tweets.

The champion vs champion, number 1 vs number 2 pound-for-pound super-fight actually delivered at UFC 284.

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski put on a highly technical, and back-and-forth affair over 25 minutes, with both champions each having great moments. In the end, the lightweight champion in Makhachev was tested and forced to show layers to his game we previously didn’t see, but he did manage to keep his belt.

In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez showcased his sharp kicks, but also an improved guard game to win the interim featherweight title.

Below, we analyze the pros and cons of each of the key bouts, with a quick twitter thread that’s short and fitting for people’s social media era attention spans:

And that’s about it. For more social media musings, follow me on twitter over at @antontabuena, and of course you should do that for Bloody Elbow’s official twitter account as well.

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About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)

Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski was a fun, high level affair.

This was top pound-for-pound number 1 vs number 2, and it really ended up looking that way. Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski went back and forth in a highly competitive and very technical affair.

Volkanovski looked sharper, faster, and had more layers to his striking game early, with Makhachev clearly having a power advantage after wobbling him with short shots. That wasn’t really the complete story of the fight though, as Volkanovski managed to hurt him multiple times on the feet as well, and by the latter rounds, Makhachev also showed beautiful reads with counter strikes and reactive takedowns in a truly high level affair.

Whether or not Makhachev did it to make a statement, the lightweight champion willingly veered away from “Father’s Plan” and decided to play Volkanovski’s game on the feet for long stretches. It may not have been the best idea, but he did well enough and it made for a close and entertaining contest.

Volkanovski showed the tremendous Fight IQ he’s been known for, and even came up big to win the fifth round, but in the end it wasn’t enough. He was able to scramble and impressively avoid damage on the ground, but he did lose key rounds to those grappling exchanges.

The fight had such big ramifications, and while it didn’t seem to get marketed enough to a wide casual audience, the fight truly delivered.

Makhachev was pushed and he showcased real layers of his game that we didn’t see before. He answered a lot of people’s questions on just how good his overall game is, and in my opinion, Makhachev passed a real test with flying colors.

On the other hand, Volkanovski once again displayed why he deserves his top spot in the pound-for-pound list. He came up short, but Volkanovski didn’t look out of place at 155 lbs, and I would have a hard time picking against him against most lightweights.

Next up for him though, will probably be Yair Rodriguez.

• In the co-main event, Rodriguez won the interim featherweight belt, with his first UFC submission win over Josh Emmett. He survived one big punch from the hard hitter, and just won everywhere the fight went. Rodriguez’s body kicks were so sharp and folded and hurt Emmett repeatedly, but it was also impressive how he did so well on the guard. Emmett couldn’t land any offense, and Rodriguez kept landing hard elbows from bottom en route to a triangle finish.
• It’s not exactly a real belt, but it was a fun fight and a great performance for Rodriguez, who will at least get a champion’s contract and better pay on his next bout, which should be a title unification.
• Jack Della Maddalena looked fantastic in his hometown win. Randy Brown was trying to stay long and control distance early, but Della Maddalena remained patient and immediately pounced the moment he pressured and got him to the fence. A short shot face-planted Brown, and eventually finished with a rear naked choke. The hype seems justified, and that marks four first round finishes in a row, clearly deserving a top contender next.
• Justin Tafa got his second straight KO win, winning in his home country in just one minute. It was a pretty step back counter shot as Parker Porter was reaching, and he put him out cold immediately.
• Jimmy Crute’s heart was on full display after surviving being dropped repeatedly, but it was just terrible Fight IQ and decision making from Alonzo Menifield, who kept clinching and making him recover. Perhaps he was gassed, but Crute was in far worse shape and he should’ve kept it standing to end it. Add that to the fence grab that cost him a point, and it really was just bad decision over bad decision that went from a sure win to a draw.
• We all know Loma Lookboonmee has a killer clinch and Muay Thai game. Tonight, she showcased overall MMA improvements and the work she’s been doing with the Hickman brothers, taking a quality submission. It was her first ever submission win in the UFC, making her one of the biggest standouts during the prelims.

Light heavyweights will headline another UFC card.

UFC has booked a light heavyweight main event between Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker.

Although a location has yet to be revealed, reports from MMA Ideas and MMA Junkie state the the pair of strikers will headline a UFC Fight Night event on May 13.

After a rough stretch of four losses in five fights, Walker has rebounded well and is now on a two-fight winning streak after recently stopping Paul Craig at UFC 283.

Smith, on the other hand, has recovered from a broken ankle suffered seven months ago on his TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277. Prior to that loss, he was on a three fight winning streak.

Smith is ranked number five in the UFC official light heavyweight rankings, while Walker has climbed to number seven after his recent win. This upcoming bout would mark the eighth UFC main event for the former title challenger in Smith, and the second headliner for Walker.

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About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)

Jose Aldo won his pro boxing debut, and is looking for bigger money fights.

Friday night in Brazil, Jose Aldo won his professional boxing debut.

The former UFC and WEC champion has always spoken about wanting to make the switch to boxing during his career, and he was finally able to make it happen after retiring from mixed martial arts.

The 36-year-old MMA legend fought at 140 lbs for his debut, beating journeyman Emmanuel Zambrano with a one-sided decision over six rounds. Aldo got a near sweep of the scorecards, with judges giving him 60-54 twice and 59-55 for a unanimous decision victory.

Aldo officially becomes 1-0 in his boxing career, while Zambrano drops to 0-4.

Even fresh off his debut, Aldo already has a couple of fights planned as he continues his boxing journey. Aldo is currently lined up to box former UFC opponent Jeremy Stephens, in Jorge Masvidal’s “Gamebred Boxing 4” event this April.

Interestingly enough, Aldo has also revealed that terms have been “agreed” for an exhibition boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“(Mayweather’s) side has already agreed, my side too. We’re now waiting for (the promoters) to get the deal done,” Aldo told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. “It might be exhibition on (Mayweather’s) side, but not for me. It’s punch to the face like always. He knows that.”

Mayweather has been active making money on the exhibition circuit after retiring at 50-0. He has had five bouts against the likes of kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura, and influencers Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji.

Like all of Mayweather’s inexperienced opponents in this post-retirement tour, Aldo would also likely be overmatched against the boxing legend. Hopefully the former UFC champion just gets a good payday out of it.

Watch highlights from Aldo’s boxing debut held at Shooto Brazil below.

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About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)

There have been significant changes in UFC contracts.

The UFC has recently made several changes to their promotional agreements, which could have a major impact in how the sport operates moving forward.

As seen on the several new UFC contracts obtained by Bloody Elbow, sweeping changes have been made that are both restrictive and concerning for fighters. The biggest change is the addition of an arbitration agreement and class action waiver. These have the potential to impact the current antitrust lawsuit and reverse some of the contractual gains that fighters have seen made over the last few years.

Previous improvements to UFC contracts

To provide better context on these newest changes, it’s worth discussing improvements to UFC contracts in recent years, thought to be in response to the antitrust lawsuit filed against them.

Last year, Bloody Elbow’s John S. Nash was the first to report on changes the UFC had made to their contracts. These changes included the additions of a “sunset clause” that put a five year maximum contract length, limitations to the amount of time a contract could be extended for turning down fights, removal of the exclusive negotiating period, and a shortened two-year window after the contract ended where UFC retained image rights.

The UFC introduced these changes to their contracts sometime in 2017, a date that now divides the two current lawsuits facing them. The class period for Le v Zuffa covers December 16, 2010 through June 30, 2017, while a second lawsuit filed in 2021 covers every fighter that had a match in the UFC between July 1, 2017 and today.

These changes might end up forcing the two classes to be split, and potentially mitigating damages against the UFC, with their Defense claiming that fighters in both groups are fighting under different contracts and market conditions.

Fighters have benefited from these changes, most noticeably Francis Ngannou, who took advantage of the new “sunset” clause to exit the promotion while UFC champion, which would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Other fighters, like Paulo Costa, now seem to be following the same path as Ngannou, while it seems very probable that others have used the threat of waiting out their contract in order to attain a better deal.

As reported by Nash on his podcast, the UFC recently made additional changes that threaten to make it much more difficult for future fighters to do the same.

Chief amongst these are three additional pages inserted into Section XXV: Choice of Law and Dispute Resolution, mainly relating to an arbitration agreement.

Arbitration

If fighters have any disagreements with the UFC over anything in their promotional agreements, instead of taking them to court, they are now required to have the dispute arbitrated.

Where parties hereto seek the resolution of any issues relating to or arising out of this Agreement, the Bout Agreement, and or any interaction or relationship between ZUFFA and Fighter, both expressly consent to arbitration, instead of court procedures, to resolve Covered Claims (as defined below.)

Arbitration is the process by which a neutral third party makes a binding decision relating to a dispute. The Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. Sections 1 et seq.) shall govern this agreement to arbitrate, as well as applicable state arbitration law only to the extent it is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. This agreement to arbitrate is in consideration of Fighter’s contract with ZUFFA. Both ZUFFA and Fighter understand that by using arbitration to resolve disputes they are giving up any right that they may have to a judge or jury trial with regard to all claims subject to this agreement to arbitrate.

Unless either party requests three arbitrators, the arbitration shall be before a single neutral arbitrator and administered by the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service (*JAMS) in Clark County, Nevada. Except as provided in this Agreement, the JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures effective as of the commencement of the arbitration (“JAMS Rules”) shall govern the arbitration proceedings.

On the surface this doesn’t seem like that big of change. To begin with, very few fighters have ever sued the UFC. Adding arbitration would not take away a fighter’s right to dispute something in the agreement. It would, however, likely tilt the playing field even more heavily into the UFC’s favor.

Arbitration, unlike the lawsuits in the courts, are private. There is no public record detailing what is being disputed, or any disclosure of filings or exhibits. Fighters and media will all be kept in the dark about the developments, which only helps the UFC’s cause, especially in the long run.

There’s also no precedent that gets set when it comes to arbitration, and changes won’t get applied to all the other fighters in the roster. In principle, even if one fighter gets an advantageous result from arbitration, others who also want to challenge the same issue will have to argue and try to get the same ruling, without the favorable conditions that a legal precedent would’ve provided.

Waiver to protect UFC from collective action and lawsuits

In addition to the arbitration, section XXV includes a class action waiver:

“Waiver of Class, Collective, and Representative Actions. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the parties agree that no claims may be initiated or maintained on a class action, collective action, or representative action basis either in court or arbitration. This means that neither party may serve or participate as a class, collective, or representative action representative or member in any proceeding as to Covered Claims either in court or in arbitration.”

“Claims Not Covered. The claims which are not covered by this agreement to arbitrate are, to the extent applicable: claims that are not subject to mandatory binding pre-dispute arbitration pursuant to applicable federal or state law, including claims brought pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act, and claims currently pending in the lawsuit entitled Le v. Zuffa, LLC, Case No. 15-cv-01045 in the District of Nevada.”

The requirement that fighters resolve disputes through arbitration instead of going through the courts also extends to class actions lawsuits. This could have major implications for the current Johnson v Zuffa case. While there is a specific carve out for Le v. Zuffa, most likely because the Judge has already verbally announced his intention to grant class certification, Johnson v Zuffa is still in the early phases of the legal process.

A fighter that signs this agreement will not be allowed to be a class member in any class action lawsuit, including the current Johnson v Zuffa lawsuit, even if the court certifies the class and the fighter meets all the criteria to be classified as a member. If damages are awarded by a jury or settlement (Plaintiffs are asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, potentially billions if trebled) fighters who signed this agreement will not be eligible for them.

Instead, if fighters shared the same dispute as found in a class action lawsuit, they would have to go to arbitration to have their individual dispute heard separately. They would also have foot the bill themselves even if they are making the same case that class action attorneys and experts — who were working on contingent — may have already made. The price of hiring such experts for something like an antitrust case would likely be prohibitive for all but a few fighters.

The waiver would also likely apply retroactively. Fighters that competed in the UFC between July 1, 2017 and today, and was thus a potential class member in Johnson v. Zuffa, would be now be excluded from class membership if they signed this contract. This would not only impact the period covered by this new agreement but also for the period they fought under their previous agreement that did not include the waiver. This could dramatically reduce the number of class members, lowering not only the amount the UFC could potentially pay out in damages but also the potential number of fighters that would receive monetary compensation.

This waiver for class action could also lead to the UFC re-introducing some of their older, more restrictive contractual provisions. Since the intent of the those 2017 changes seems to have been to mitigate potential damages, then a waiver preventing any new member from even becoming a member of the class action lawsuit would mean those changes were no longer needed.

We already see some evidence that this may indeed be happening.

Return of controversial tolling provisions

One of the complaints in both antitrust lawsuits is the use of tolling provisions by the UFC to extend their contracts. If the promotion offers a fighter a bout and they are unable or unwilling to take it, the UFC has the ability to extend the agreement an additional six months or the amount of time required to find another opponent. Before 2017, there was no limit to the number of extensions the UFC can add this way. Contracts could therefore be in perpetuity if the fighter decided he was no longer willing to compete for the promotion.

In 2017, the UFC changed this provisions so that the maximum amount of time the UFC could extend a contract for a fighter that was unable or unwilling to compete was 18 months.

In the most recent contracts Bloody Elbow has obtained, this 18 month extension limit has been removed. The UFC has also added multiple reasons as for why opponents might not be available.

“In the event that Fighter is offered a Bout against an opponent designated by ZUFFA but does not accept that Bout because the Fighter is unable, unwilling or refuses to compete for any reason whatsoever (a “Declination”), for each such Declination, Zuffa may, at its election, extend the Term for the length of time sufficient to find a new opponent to accept the Bout or for six (6) months, whichever is longer. Such extension is necessary to provide Fighter with a suitable replacement Bout, as ZUFFA and Fighter recognize attendant difficulties including, but not limited to, that there is a limited pool of suitable opponents, suitable opponents may have pre-existing Bout obligations, and sufficient lead time must exist to adequately promote the replacement Bout.”

Due to the return of this controversial clause, now the only limit to how long a contract could be extended is the five year “sunset” provision.

Longer ‘Sunset’ clause

Another welcome change stemming from the antitrust lawsuit was the “sunset” period added to UFC contracts. Francis Ngannou was able to become a free agent thanks to this clause terminating his contract after five years.

Unfortunately for other fighters moving forward, this section has since been tweaked.

Contracts Bloody Elbow have obtained now show that the sunset period starts after the fighter’s first bout, instead of the clock starting the day the deal was signed. They’ve also added a clause stating that suspensions no longer count on this duration.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Agreement will not be extended pursuant to this Section IV beyond the date which is five (5) years after Fighter’s first Bout under this Agreement, provided that any period of time in which Fighter is unable or unwilling to compete because he/she has been suspended or revoked by an Athletic Commission or anti-doping agency shall not be counted towards such five (5) year maximum term length.

Compared to the previous set up, this new language could easily mean that the five-year period essentially ends up months or years longer, especially if Athletic Commission medical suspensions are included.

Is this legal?

How exactly would the UFC — a company being sued for abusing its market power by forcing one-sided contract terms — be allowed to now force contract terms that prevent them from being sued for abusing their market power?

Well, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld that this was legal in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis back in 2018 in a 5-4 ruling. This makes it unlikely that these new additions to UFC contracts can be challenged without new legislation.

Overall impact?

Led by Ngannou, the first wave of fighters who are just now able to take advantage of less restrictive UFC contracts, may also end up being the last to do so.

As former two-division champ Randy Couture noted on his attempt to take on the UFC and restrictive contracts during his career, “the upside to that is I got a much better deal moving forward. The downside is they closed a bunch of the loopholes in those crappy contracts and made it more difficult for other fighters moving forward.”

With waivers and arbitration now insulating the UFC from lawsuits, we should expect to see more restrictive terms in future contracts.

By asking fighters to waive and concede even more of their rights, the UFC may end up with the best of both worlds: Adding to their already overwhelming leverage and control, while also being protected from class action threats.

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About the author: Anton Tabuena is the Managing Editor for Bloody Elbow. He’s been covering MMA and combat sports since 2009, and has also fought in MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. (full bio)