CABMMA instituting early weigh ins in Brazil

The regulatory body in Brazil, the ComissãoAtléticaBrasileira de MMA (CABMMA)?, is yet another supporter of the new early weigh in protocol. The usual procedure in MMA is to weigh in around 5:00 p.m., at the arena. The new protocol calls for weigh ins as early as 10:00 a.m., and if possible at the hotel where the fighters are staying, and cutting weight. This provides significantly more time for the brain to fully rehydrate, cutting the risk of head trauma. And it spares fighters the misery of cutting at the hotel, and then going to the arena to wait until 5.

The initiative is rapidly growing after being initiated by California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster. And CABMMA director Cristiano Sampaio? indicated they have independently been experimenting with in Brazil since last year.

Actually we’ve been doing that in Brazilian promotions since 2015, said Sampaio to to Marcelo Alonso for Sherdog. We did it in Shooto, Max Fight and 1st Round Combat. The test runs were really positive. Now, we’re in the final stage of setting up protocols and doing the same for UFC events in Brazil. I talked with the UFC right after the Curitiba event [on May 14], and our plan is to start using the new guidelines for the upcoming UFC event in Brasilia.

We were really impressed by the excellent results we got at the Brazilian events. The athletes are not gaining more weight by having more time to rehydrate. They actually get rehydrated in a correct manner – slowly and homogenously – so the fighters are in much better condition to compete the day of the fight; they’ve had more time to rest and feed themselves better. That doesn’t even mention the visual side of it for the media and fans. It’s definitely a great step for the sport.

The next UFC event is Brazil is will reportedly be on September 24.