There is a culture of extreme weight cutting that is, mercifully, becoming a thing of the past. And as hard as cutting is for men, it is tougher for women. Female fighters characteristically have a higher percent body far, and cutting from fat is tougher than cutting from muscle. and the hormonal changes around a women’s period can increase water retention, compounding the misery.
UFC women’s strawweight Claudia Gadelha appeared recently at a media scrum and revealed that she used to cut up to 33 pounds, and that that is a thing of the past.
“I don’t cut much weight anymore,” said Gadelha to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. “I learned that by losing much weight, I also lose performance inside the Octagon, so I’m staying lighter now. I learned to eat better, so I live on a diet now. I don’t go out of my diet a day now, not even on the weekends, because I have to be around 126 pounds to cut 13 or 15 pounds before the fight. No more cutting 22, 33 pounds for me.
“I think it’s already tough for a male athlete, and it’s even worse for a female athlete. It’s bad for your performance on fight night, so I’m living on a diet so it doesn’t become an issue n the future.”
“I always felt like a MMA fighter, I don’t feel like a jiu-jitsu fighter fighting MMA, but I think I’m more experienced today. I became an experienced fighter, focusing more on being a MMA fighter, a well-rounded fighter. I tried to evolve my striking, training more boxing and kickboxing, and for sure that’s going to be the difference in this fight.”
“I’m aggressive too. I’m a warrior. When I get into a fight, I give everything I have inside the Octagon. I think the difference now will be my experience and the strategy we have now. I trained hard on a strategy to fight inside the Octagon.”
Gadelha and women’s champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk are opposing coaches on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, and reports that the two very nearly came to blows on the set.
“I wanted to punch her in her face several times,” said Gadelha. “But I took a deep breath and saw that it’s our job, we have to sell the fight, but I don’t think you have to get to a point to disrespect. I grew up inside the gym with a martial art philosophy, respecting the mat, my coaches, my teammates and my opponents, and Joanna is the opposite. She disrespects everyone. When she started disrespecting my coaches, I felt really offended, but I took a deep breath and said ‘okay, let’s move on’. I’ll walk through this as another obstacle to get inside the Octagon and do my job.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk fights Claudia Gadelha at the TUF 23 finale on July 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
