Hendricks coach explains cut fiasco

Former UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks is out of a #1 contender fight fight Saturday night, and out of the division, after he suffered medical issues during yet another failed weight cut.

MMAjunkie‘s Brent Brookhouse reached out to Hendricks’ strength and conditioning coach, Adrian Ramirez, for an explanation.

I think that he just came in too heavy for this camp, and it was just waiting until the last minute before zoning into his diet, explained Ramirez. I think that was the biggest issue he had with this camp. I think it was just waiting until the last minute to really get this weight off.

Last camp, for the fight with Matt Brown, we had made a pact that he wouldn’t get above 195 – and he did that successfully for that camp. He stayed under 195. Last camp was one of the best weight camps we’ve ever had in the history of Johny’s fighting career. He did everything right, stayed on the diet and was where we wanted him to be.

This camp he came in around 210 or 205, which is a little too heavy for our liking. I think that’s the biggest factor in this camp – just coming in too heavy and starting his meal prep a little bit too late.

One of the owners of our management team had called, and he had talked to a nutritionist. … I had never been familiar with him up until we spoke. But our management arranged a conference call with (him), whom we’d never met, and he’d never met Johny. We got on the conference call, and I had a couple concerns, because if you don’t know Johny and know his lifestyle, I feel like you can’t really comment on how much he needs to be eating.

He was pretty much telling Johny that he should increase his meals because Johny was telling him that he was feeling run down after his training, which is fine. I’m not blaming or anything like that. But I think after that conference call, Johny took what he said and justified that he should start eating more and increasing his calories. Johny isn’t a certified nutritionist or anything like that. He was just taking this guy’s word for it. I think that might have caused a couple issues in the middle of camp.

Not to blame (the nutritionist) – I don’t want to badmouth anybody. I’m sure he was giving general information. But I think Johny took from that phone call that he needs to eat more, and he was a bit misguided with his diet. We’ve used Mike Dolce in the past. I’ve never had a problem with Mike Dolce. I’ve seen his system work with Johny. We stopped using him, but I didn’t think that bringing in another nutritionist for a conference call was the right move. I think Mike Dolce had the answer: If you do everything that he says to do, the diet is going to come into place.

Other than that, Johny started too late on his weight cut, and he has to take full responsibility for that.

Although trips to the hospital are the most obvious sign of the damage that extreme weight cutting is doing to fighters, there is undoubtedly internal damage going on in thousands of fighters.

The culture of Extreme Weight Cutting has got to end.

The beginning of any change is education and awareness. Towards that end, California State Athletic Commission Executive Director Andy Foster issued a message about the dangers of weight cutting, prepared by the Association of Ringside Physicians.

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.

One of the prescriptions is maintaining your weight year round near an appropriate competition weight. Hendricks came into a camp for a fight at 171 weighing 205-210. That is terrible. It proved to be terrible for the fans, terrible for his employer, and above all, it is terrible for Johny Hendricks.