Weight cutting has been an integral issue at the forefront of the conversation in MMA lately.
It seems like every card is ruined by a fighter missing weight, and usually by a large margin. Main event fighters like Darren Till, Yoel Romero, and Kevin Lee have soiled recently featured bouts, and fight fans are rightfully getting frustrated.
Solutions from more weight classes to eliminating early weigh-ins have been considered, but thus far, nothing substantial has been done to address this glaringly obvious issue in MMA.
You won’t believe the amount of weight some fighters have clocked in at. Even worse, many of them are repeat offenders, making every weigh-in a gamble as to if they will actually make weight.
However, some of the fighters on this list who struggle with their weight cuts have been champions; for example:
10. Renan Barao – UFC 177
The former bantamweight champion had some serious difficulty making the 135-pound limit and didn’t even come close at UFC 177. Barao was attempting to take the title he had lost to TJ Dillashaw beforehand, but the rematch didn’t end up happening at UFC 177.
Rumor has it that he was cutting down from 163 pounds, making it a nearly 30-pound weight cut.
Barao’s weight cut was so bad that he actually passed out while in the sauna as he tried to sweat out water weight in an effort to make the bantamweight limit. Barao smacked his head on the bathtub upon blacking out and was forced out of the fight as a result.
Joe Soto ultimately filled in for Barao, making this a seriously messed up weight cut on Barao’s part. Blacking out and not even making it to a title fight is as bad as it gets.
Barao now fights at featherweight, which is still likely a difficult cut, but at least it hasn’t caused him to blackout.
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks was looking to pick up his second win at 185 pounds when he met longtime vet Tim Boetsch in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but a shocking miss of the middleweight limit made […]
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks was looking to pick up his second win at 185 pounds when he met longtime vet Tim Boetsch in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but a shocking miss of the middleweight limit made it highly questionable if “Bigg Rigg’s” heart was still in the fight game.
“The Barbarian” was definitely no man to be sharing the octagon with if it was not, and when the dust settled, Boetsch spoiled Hendricks’ chance to build a win streak in the state he won a national championship in wrestling with the Oklahoma State Cowboys with a monstrous TKO.
Hendricks pushed the pace early, but was always stifled by the push kicks and counter punches o the much larger Boetsch, who stayed out of the way of Hendricks’ fearsome left hand. In the second round Boetsch found the mark with a picture-perfect head kick that hurt “Bigg Rigg” badly, and followed with a vicious assault of uppercuts to seal the deal, sending Hendricks further down the line.
Watch the full fight video highlights of “The Barbarian’s” biggest win here:
Tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 is in the books after a hard-hitting night of action from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the main event, lightweight submission specialist Michael Chiesa took on rising prospect Kevin Lee in a main event with plenty of backstory after their now-famous press conference […]
Tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 is in the books after a hard-hitting night of action from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In the main event, lightweight submission specialist Michael Chiesa took on rising prospect Kevin Lee in a main event with plenty of backstory after their now-famous press conference brawl where “The Motown Phenom” mentioned “Maverick’s” mother. Lee dominated the early action and had a tight choke locked up, but the ending was muddled by the incompetency of referee Mario Yamasaki, who called the fight off when Chiesa had not tapped.
The co-headliner featured former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks’ second bout at middleweight, a weight at which he shockingly missed by three full pounds at the early weigh-ins yesterday. “Bigg Rigg” faced veteran Tim Boetsch, losing by way of a brutal second-round head kick and the strikes that followed.
Watch the main card fighters discuss the aftermath of the event in the UFC Fight Night 112 press conference video starting live after the main card right here:
The MMA community is abuzz with the surprising (or perhaps not so much) news that former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks missed weight by a whopping three pounds at today’s early weigh-in for his middleweight bout against veteran Tim Boetsch at tomorrow’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in […]
The MMA community is abuzz with the surprising (or perhaps not so much) news that former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks missed weight by a whopping three pounds at today’s early weigh-in for his middleweight bout against veteran Tim Boetsch at tomorrow’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
It’s hardly a secret that “Bigg Rigg” loves his big meals, so much so that he was forced to move up to middleweight after missing weight by a large margin prior to his respective UFC 207 and UFC 200 losses to Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum. Prior to that, Hendricks was hospitalized before his scheduled UFC 192 showdown with current 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley, and only narrowly made weight for his title-sealing UFC 171 classic versus Robbie Lawler.
But that was at welterweight, and it appeared Hendricks was back on track when he moved up to middleweight and beat a formerly touted Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 105 this year. Now, however, the fallen former champ has proven that he can’t even make 185 pounds on a consistent basis, and that fact represents a concerning path for the former champ. “Bigg Rigg” has lost four of his last six bouts, and it’s plain to see that he’s a shell of the bulldozing knockout artist that smashed everyone in his path on the way to losing a controversial split decision that many still feel he won to all-time great Georges St-Pierre.
Photo by Stephen Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports
That seems like so, so long ago, and it’s an alarming fall from grace from a man who many felt was on is way to MMA greatness four years ago. Maybe Hendricks just couldn’t give up on the foods he loves, perhaps the dissolving of his Team Takedown was a part of his slide, the reasons are myriad. Either way, they’ve all resulted in one of the quickest and most concerning snides we’ve seen from a top-ranked UFC contender, and today’s huge whiff magnifies that tenfold.
More importantly, it’s becoming apparent that Hendricks’ issues on the scale are beginning to harm his long-term health even at middleweight, and that’s clearly a big factor in just where he goes next. He won’t be able to contend with most fighters at 205 pounds despite it being a relatively shallow division due to his height, so a previously unheard-of move there won’t be a viable alternative. Hendricks is also unlikely to contend with the cream of the crop at middleweight, as names like Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Luke Rockhold, and Chris Weidman dwarf the 5’9″ former wrestling champion.
So Hendricks is in a sort of no man’s land, sitting without a finish since he looked like a world beater when he KO’d Martin Kampmann in 46 seconds back at UFC 154 in late 2012. It’s tough to say where he goes from here, but one thing appears crystal clear: if he can’t make 185 pounds, he definitely isn’t taking his career seriously, at least not seriously enough to remain a top-ranked professional fighter in the world’s biggest and most unforgiving promotion.
The reasons could be many, but Hendricks sits at a career crossroads. Will he choose the correct path, or will another loss to Boetsch send him a step closer to a way out?
Since losing the UFC welterweight title in 2014, former champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks has experienced a sudden fall from grace, as he’s lost two of his last three bouts. He’s also had difficulty with weight cutting and he once again failed to make the 171-pound limit yesterday (Dec. 29, 2016) for his fight against
Since losing the UFC welterweight title in 2014, former champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks has experienced a sudden fall from grace, as he’s lost two of his last three bouts. He’s also had difficulty with weight cutting and he once again failed to make the 171-pound limit yesterday (Dec. 29, 2016) for his fight against Neil Magny at tonight’s (Dec. 30, 2016) UFC 207 from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Because of his recent struggles and the harm he is putting on his body, Hendricks admits that his days as a welterweight are ‘done’ after UFC 207:
“I’m done fighting at welterweight,” he told MMAFighting, just hours before the fight. “Unless they open up a 175-pound division, I’m moving up to middleweight.”
As far as his move up to middleweight goes, Hendricks said that he has informed the UFC of his plans, although they have yet to comment on it. “Bigg Rigg” also feels as if his strength and knockout power will follow him up to 185-pounds:
“The lord blessed me with great strength,” he said.
