CSAC’s Andy Foster taking the fight to dangerous weight cutting

Andy Foster is the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, and has an unparalleled perspective on the sport, as a fighter, promoter, judge, coach, fan, and regulator. At present mixed martial arts is intensely focused, reasonably, on PEDs, and Foster is addressing the issue aggressively. However, Foster has identified weight cutting as biggest danger in MMA, and he is addressing that with characteristic aggressiveness as well.

Foster is fighting the problem from the bottom up.

“It dawned on me that the professional fighters I’m dealing with, most of them have already had a long experience in our amateur ranks,” said Foster. “That is where they developed weight cutting behaviors that they took with them. I could even go a step further and say the behavior needs to be changed in middle and high school wrestling programs. If we can stop this behavior of extreme weight cutting using various criteria with amateurs, it will transcend to the professional ranks.”

Brett Okamoto has the story for ESPN.

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, amateur mixed martial artists competing in California will comply with a lowest allowable weight limit, designed to prevent athletes from ever dropping below 5 percent body fat.

That is the current goal, according to California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) director JT Steele and California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster.

While it’s not completely certain changes will go into effect by the start of next year, that is the time frame CSAC and CAMO are anticipating. The long term goal, Foster says, is to see lowest allowable weight limits adopted at a professional level.

“It’s much easier for CAMO to implement this program,” said Foster. “They can amend their regulations quite easily. CSAC actually began the conversation, but speaking from a purely regulatory perspective, it’s easier at the amateur level.”

The new amateur program, once in effect, will set a minimum weight class a fighter is allowed to compete in, based on a physical assessment conducted by a CSAC-licensed ringside physician. This practice is already utilized by the NCAA in amateur wrestling. While the NCAA also prohibits specific weight-cutting methods, CAMO intends to focus exclusively on the lowest allowable weight limit for now.

Currently, amateur fighters wishing to participate in California submit a license application, which includes blood tests and a full physical examination. Once the program goes into effect, athletes will undergo an assessment to determine his or her lowest allowable weight class. This assessment will be done while the fighter is in a hydrated state and will last one calendar year. Athletes will obviously be allowed to compete at a weight above their lowest allowed division.

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Foster is also addressing the issue at the professional level, beginning with education. Foster worked with the Association of Ringside Physicians (ARP) to draft a memo on the dangers of extreme weight cutting, which is gaining momentum in the MMA space.

THE DANGERS OF CUTTING WEIGHT AND DEHYDRATING

Unhealthy and dangerous weight loss practices continue to be a serious problem in combat sports. One recent study found that 39% of MMA fighters were entering competition in a dehydrated state. Heat illness and death in athletes have already happened in the sports of wrestling and MMA.

It’s been shown that excessive weight loss, rapid weight loss, and repeated cycling of weight gain/loss causes decreased performance, hormonal imbalance, decreased nutrition, and increased injury risk. Other life-threatening problems associated with improper weight loss and dehydration include:

•Decreased Muscle Strength and Endurance: Decreased blood flow to muscles makes them work less well.

•Decreased Heart and Cardiovascular Function: The heart works harder and less efficiently.

•Reduced Energy Utilization, Nutrient Exchange and Acidosis: With decreased blood flow to tissues nutrients don’t get delivered, and the body’s waste products do not get

removed as well. A buildup of acid occurs which ch anges cells’ functions in the body.

•Heat Illness: This takes on four forms: heat cramps, heat syncope (loss of consciousness), heat exhaustion, and heat stroke (which may be fatal). Dehydration results in decreased blood flow to skin and muscles. This is followed by decreased ability to regulate body temperature. The ability to sweat becomes impaired and core body temperature can rise. This increases the threat of all of these to poorly hydrated athletes doing strenuous workouts.

•Decreased Kidney Function: Dehydration leads to decreased kidney blood flow and decreased kidney function. This contributes to the problems listed in the points here, in addition to decreased urine output, concentrated urine, and leakage of protein into the urine. (It is not known if these changes can result in permanent kidney damage.)

•Electrolyte Problems: Decreased kidney function results in imbalances of electrolytes such as unhealthy increases in potassium and sodium.

•Mood Swings and Mental Changes: All of the above contribute to increased mood swings, poor concentration and focus, disorientation and other mental changes.

•Eye Trouble: Dehydration can cause blurred vision and dry eyes.

•Increased Risk of Brain Injury: There are likely increased risks of brain bleeding and concussion.

DON’T:

•Don’t use extreme methods for making weight such as excessive heat methods (rubberized suits, steam rooms, saunas), excessive intense bouts of exercise, vomiting, laxatives and diuretics.

•Don’t use dehydration as a mainstay of making weight. In addition to the above, it puts you at risk of improper rehydration techniques when, in reality, proper re-hydration takes several hours to days. (Many cases intravenous fluids being used for rehydration after weigh-ins have been reported – this is a doping violation with several organizations.)

DO:

•Commit to year-round proper diet and training for proper weight control and body composition.

•By maintaining your weight year round near an appropriate competition weight and not competing in a weight class outside your appropriate weight class you will help avoid large swings in weight.

•Maintain a good state of hydration by drinking fluid throughout the day and staying hydrated during workouts.

•Follow nutritional programs that meet your needs for adequate amounts of calories from a balanced diet high in healthy carbohydrates, the minimum requirement of fat, and appropriate amounts of protein.

•Be wary of nutritional supplements as they are not regulated by the FDA and some have been shown to be harmful.

For more information visit: associationofringsidephysicians.org.

Every fighter, trainer, and official in the sport should familiarize themselves with this.