UFC fans know all too well what it feels like to lose a big fight right before an event…but fans haven’t really seen anything like what just happened to Saturday night’s card in Belem, Brazil.
According to reports, the co-main event bout between John Dodson and Pedro Munhoz was canceled just 24 hours before it was slated to take place. The reason? According to reports, the hotel Munhoz was working with ran out of hot water.
So what does having hot water have to do with fighting? The answer is cutting weight.
For many fighters, weight-cutting is the most difficult part of the sport. Competitors potentially shed tens of pounds through extreme dieting and dehydration in the days leading up to the fight in order to compete in the smallest possible weight class. One of the most common ways fighters will drop weight is through sweating, with hot baths being one of the go-to methods to get the perspiration flowing.
According to a report by Fox Sports 1, Munhoz checked in at 140 pounds during the weigh-ins, four pounds over the bantamweight allowance. The Brazilian claims that this was due to the fact that he did not have the proper facilities to go through his weight-cutting regimen, as he went from one hotel that didn’t have a tub to another that had a tub but ran out of hot water during his stay. Dodson ultimately declined to fight a heavier opponent, resulting in the fight’s cancellation.
In its stead, the women’s flyweight bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira has been elevated to the co-main event spot. Expect Dodson vs. Munhoz to be announced for another card in the coming weeks, and expect fighters to ask about what the bathing situation is in their hotels for the foreseeable future.
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