Birth control is indeed a not-so-secret weapon in Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s weight-cutting arsenal. But it’s not the only one, and the controversial method was cleared by a medical doctor first.
That’s according to George Lockhart, the nutritionist who handles the steep weight cut for the best female MMA fighter in the world and who first suggested—over Cyborg’s objections—that she use birth control as a weight-cutting tool.
Speaking Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast with host Ariel Helwani, Lockhart laid out in detail the various factors involved in the massive 30-pound weight cut Cyborg undertook in advance of her second-round knockout of Lina Lansberg Saturday in Brazil.
The prime complicating factor for Cyborg and other female fighters, Lockhart said, is the added potential for water retention brought on by differences between the male and female physiologies. In Cyborg’s case, stress and a lack of sleep were also factors, Lockhart said.
“Women and men are totally different,” Lockhart said. “Men fluctuate a lot in terms of water because they hold a lot more muscle than women. … If you include the amount of stress during fight week, again, they’re going to hold water, and then the lack of sleep [exacerbates water retention]. … Cris had not slept, she’d just flew in, and that’s all going to make you hold onto water.”
However, perhaps the key difference, Lockhart said, is the menstrual cycle, which can cause substantial water retention and which Lockhart said began for Cyborg during the week leading up to UFC Fight Night 95 last Saturday.
That timing is what triggered Lockhart‘s recommendation that Cyborg use birth control as a weight-cutting tool—a tactic that drew attention last week when it was documented in videos shot and released by Cyborg’s team during her cut. During that video, Cyborg told Lockhart that “it’s my body, not your body,” when Lockhart advised her to take the birth control, precipitating a heated exchange between them.
Lockhart said Monday his recommendation was cleared by Cyborg’s doctor:
I’m not a doctor. I can’t prescribe anything. One thing I did want to go over is to say ‘OK, she has sporadic periods, and when that happens, we tend to go up [in weight] a lot.’ What I wanted is lighter periods, a little bit more regularity. It was something that we wanted to address. … [Birth control] is something I brought to her attention, she spoke to her doctor, and at the end of the day, Cris is very disciplined, Cris is very regimented, and she’s just like every other fighter.
Lockhart added Cyborg faced the same scenario during her last cut, which occurred in May in advance of her UFC debut, an 81-second knockout of Leslie Smith.
“The last camp, this was something that we faced,” Lockhart said. “And we want it to get easier and easier and easier. … There are so many different variables in a weight cut.”
Cyborg’s weight cut has for various reasons drawn major attention in recent weeks and months. The cut itself is quite steep, beginning when Cyborg weighs about 170 pounds and, in the case of her bout Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 95, ended when she weighed in officially at 141 pounds (although that, too, was not without controversy).
Another portion of the documentary released last week also drew widespread attention for depicting the mechanics of her cut in detail, including protracted periods of visible agony for the fighter.
What’s more, Cyborg’s inability or unwillingness (depending on whom you ask) to make the 135-pound women’s bantamweight limit has been a source of speculation throughout her career, most notably when then-champion Ronda Rousey refused to face Cyborg unless she could reach that limit.
Cyborg’s difficulty on the scale stands in contrast to her dominance in the cage, where Cyborg (17-1-1) is now the unchallenged best in her field. Saturday’s win over Lansberg was her seventh straight knockout win and second straight in the UFC. The 31-year-old Cyborg also holds the 145-pound featherweight title with the all-female Invicta promotion.
The UFC does not have a women’s featherweight division.
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