Six UFC 241 fighters given notice by CSAC to move up a division

The culture of extreme weight cutting is the most dangerous regulatory issue in mixed martial arts. Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission has created a 10 Point Plan to fix the deadly problem. It works. The ABC medical committee supports it. The ABC has adopted it. The UFC supports it and will continue to adopt further parts of it.

One point in Foster’s 10 Point Plan that he and other progressive commissions take is to weigh in fighters on fight day. If a fighter is more than 10% heavier than their contracted division, then they are severely dehydrating themselves, and can be recommended to move up a division, unless cleared to be in their division by a physician. Foster plans to add a rule allowing CSAC to cancel fights where fighters put on more than 15% of their bodyweight between weigh-ins and fight time.

At UFC 241 six fighters cut a dangerous amount:

Paulo Costa (186) • 213.8 – 14.9%

Sodiq Yusuff (145) • 169.2 – 16.7%

Manny Bermudez (140) for 140 catchweight fight • 164.8 – 17.7%

Kyung Ho Kang (136) • 156.4 – 15.0%

Brandon Davis (136) • 156 – 14.7%

Sabina Mazo (126) • 145.6 – 15.6%

CSAC has informed them that they will be required to move up a division. CSAC representative Patrisha Blackstock said the fighters can still compete in their chosen weight classes, but will need to prove they can fight safely.

Kyung Ho Kang fought at bantamweight, but wouldn’t have made weight for lightweight; that’s crazy. Drakkar Klose and Christos Giagos endured severe dehydration, weighing in within .5 of a pound of each other. They fought 20 pounds heavier, within a pound of each other. So what is the purpose of the cut?

The simple fact is that Manny Bermudez is not a bantamweight. The entire purpose of weight divisions is for fighter health and safety, but Kenny had to fight an opponent 20 pounds heavier. That’s crazy and dangerous and unfair. And Bermudez didn’t even win. Indeed, of the eight fights where one or both fighters exceeded the 10% limit, the lighter fighter won four of them, indicating that in addition to endangering health, it doesn’t seem to have a huge effect on fight performance. 

Foster will require Bermudez to move up to featherweight in order to fight again in California. Decisions will be made shortly for the remaining fighters who broke the 10% and 15% thresholds. A note will be added the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) database noting the recommendation; to date, other commissions have honored it.

Foster is not being radical here; rather, he is his usual brilliant, rational, conservative, normal self. There is no earthly justification for allowing fighters to endure a potentially fatal level of fluid loss, in the interests of health and safety. The sport needs to adopt the 15% rule immediately, everywhere.

h/t MMA Junkie