Piccolotti was filmed vomiting during his weight cut for Bellator 274 this past Saturday.
Adam Piccolotti has been suspended by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation after the Bellator fighter shared a video of his brutal weight-cutting process before Bellator 274 this past Saturday.
Piccolotti earned a unanimous decision over Georgi Karakhanyan in a featured lightweight fight. The ‘Bomb’ took to Instagram shortly after and posted a now-deleted video of him during his weight cut, which showed him being helped by his team off the floor and into a portable sauna. He was seen still halfway inside of it, now vomiting out a yellowish fluid on a towel.
Piccolotti then crawled out of the portable sauna, removed his jacket and continued to vomit. In the caption of the post, the 33-year-old wrote that he had thrown up “20-plus times throughout the night”.
Director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation Mike Mazzulli was made aware of the video and told Nolan King of MMA Junkie that Piccolotti was given a four to six month suspension and must receive medical clearance from a nephrologist, a doctor who specializes in kidney health.
“I reviewed the video and determined the process was unnecessarily dangerous,” said Mazzulli. “We’re always concerned for fighter safety and weight cutting. Hopefully this will be a learning experience [for Piccolotti]. Fortunately, he didn’t die.”
Additional reporting from Marc Raimondi of ESPN revealed the fighter was fined $2,500 and will need an EKG and new physical before he can return to active competition. The cornermen — Mauricio Calvo, Raul Castillo and Matthew Aragoni — were given the same suspension as Piccolotti. These suspensions are to be upheld by other athletic commissions across the U.S. and Canada.
Mazzulli also told King that the unanimous decision over Karakhanyan will stand. The lightweight has alternated between wins and losses in his past four appearances under the Bellator banner.