Hendricks: My intestines dried up from deer meat

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks planned to beat Tyron Woodley at UFC 192 and then get a title shot. Instead, he developed medical issues during the last days of the cut, and went to the ER. The fight was canceled, and UFC president Dana White says he is no longer welcome at welterweight.

The condemnation was widespread, primarily because Hendricks came into camp so heavy. Hendricks began camp for his fight at UFC 192 at a reported 205-210. On Tuesday before the fight, he was a reported 20-25 pounds over (or 191-196). By Thursday afternoon Hendricks said he was 183. On Thursday night he was in the hospital.

Hendricks appeared recently on Ariel Hewani’s The MMA Hour, and defended himself against the accusations.

“I don’t read it,” began Hendricks, and transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMAMania. “Here’s the thing – I know there is going to be venom spit my way. But people don’t understand, they don’t get to watch one fight. Well, I don’t get paid.

“I had to give up three months of a training camp that I worked hard and that I was very prepared to fight Woodley. Then the next fight, lets say in March or April, I would be fighting for the title. These people that are spitting venom, they don’t look at that. They only look at what’s in front of them at that moment.

“What I say to them is, try to lose 20 pounds. I have to lose 30 pounds each training camp. I say to them, come with me and try to lose 20 and I’ll give you a week to do it. How many people can actually say that they’ve lost 20 pounds in one week? I do know that this is my job and that’s what makes me different than everybody else.”

Hendricks also broke down what went wrong.

“Everything was going good,” he said. “I was drinking two and half gallons a day and I was walking right around 193, which is normal. Then my body just quit, I couldn’t go to the bathroom. It was was if my body was holding on to everything, which was sort of weird.

“So we started doing the weight cut, and I was still drinking two and half gallons a day. Then I just hit a plateau where I would feel lightheaded, which is common. I didn’t think anything of it, and then I woke up on Thursday feeling really good at 184 pounds. I thought it was going to be perfect, lost 10 pounds then wake up on Friday and have to lose an extra three pounds. I went and did my first session and only lost two pounds. I was like, ‘Oh boy.’ That was when my body felt different.

“I tried to push through it, went and did another session and worked out and that is when I realized something was wrong. Both my left and right sides started to hurt. I went to the hospital and that’s when I found out that my intestines were dried up and that I had a kidney stone on my right side.”

“There’s a point where I was sort of grateful that I didn’t continue, because it took me a week to get over what happened.”

Hendricks did concede that his diet of deer meat and high animal protein may have been problematic.

Hendricks attributed his botched cut to a number of factors, but none more than his venison-heavy diet during camp.

“That’s what sucks more than anything, is that you work so hard to showcase what you have, and all of a sudden the diet that we were on backfires,” said Hendricks as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. “Which sucks, but I’ve learned after we did this, we did a lot of research, and I was eating a lot of deer meat and a lot of high-protein animal protein, which, that’s the leading cause of kidney stones and your intestines failing you.

“I had no idea, because I usually eat a lot of fish and a lot of chicken. I wanted to eat more protein, a lot of cleaner protein, so we focused more on that and it ended up backfiring. I think that if I would’ve eaten more chicken and salmon, I wouldn’t have been in this situation.”

“There was a lot of signs that were telling me that I needed to change up my diet, and it wasn’t my weight. My weight, I hit 189 three weeks out of the fight. That’s the first time, and I have proof because one of my coaches was sitting there, they were all worried, ‘we don’t know where your weight’s at,’ they were sort of getting in my face. Like, ‘hey, let’s hit 189 then. I can do that.’ I was walking in at 193. I hit 189, and then that’s when everything sort of started to fall apart.

“We didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now looking back, I understand, because … I would only be able to do like a 10 or 20-minute workout with [my coach], then I’d have to take a break. After doing research, I find out that the way I did my high protein (diet) was absorbing all of my water, so therefore it was hurting me in the long run.”

The fighter has yet to pass the kidney stone.

Hendricks plans a test cut down to 170 to see if his body at 32 can still handle fighting at welterweight. Regardless of whether his body can or can’t make it, his body did not make it.

Further, the culture of extreme weight cutting in MMA has being called into question, from now countless sources.

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.

The most immediately relevant stipulation above is “commit to year-round proper diet and training for proper weight control and body composition.” Walking around at 210 and fighting at 170 is no longer acceptable.