It’s been described as MMA’s ‘dirty little secret’, but yet extreme weight-cutting in the days prior to a fight remains a commonplace and extremely dangerous part of the sport for many competitors and shows no sign of being stamped out anytime soon.
Perhaps part of the reason for this is that the worst aspects of this practice generally take place behind closed doors and so fans don’t get to see the battle with their own bodies that fighters undergo before they ever set foot in the cage.
However, in rare cases, the horrifying reality of what a brutal weight cut really looks like has been documented on video, and in this article, we’ll look at six sickening examples that show what happens when some of the toughest people on the planet push themselves to their breaking point and beyond.
Cris Cyborg
In her 2016 documentary, Cris ‘Cyborg’ gave viewers a chance to see behind-the-scenes prior to her UFC 198 debut against Leslie Smith, including the shocking level of pain and suffering that she had to endure to make weight.
What made this even harder to watch was knowing that the UFC had refused to let ‘Cyborg’ fight in her usual 145-pound featherweight class, and instead had repeatedly demanded that she fight at 140 pounds instead, which in this instance left her cutting 26 pounds in just two-three days.
In the video, ‘Cyborg’ is seen sobbing uncontrollably and writhing in pain as she dehydrates her body to an incredibly dangerous extent.
”What we do is we all sit here in a room and watch a human being bring themselves close to death,” her nutritionist George Lockhart grimly surmises at one point.
The footage was frightening enough that ESPN’s ‘Outside The Lines’ ran an entire segment focusing on ‘Cyborg’s’ plight, and coincidentally, around the time that was about to air, the UFC finally relented and agreed to start a new 145-pound division that ‘Cyborg’ has gone on to rule with an iron fist since.
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