You may read about it in the latest MMA news – MMA fighters cutting weight so they can make it into a lower weight class than the one they should be in. Then, in the 24-or-so hours before the fight, they rehydrate and put a lot of the weight they lost back on so they can have an advantage over their opponent. While it can ensure you’re heavier than your opponent, it can also have drastic consequences for your health. Read below how cutting weight is often unsafe for MMA fighters.
It Dehydrates Your Body
The most immediate and dangerous side effect of cutting weight, which you hear about a lot in medical articles, is how weight cutting can deprive your body of much-needed hydration. While you’re technically cutting weight, you’re not cutting fat which takes much longer. Instead, you’re losing water weight which your body needs. Without enough water, your muscles may not be getting the blood flow they need.
What’s more, your kidneys need that water to filter your blood, and your cells need the balance of potassium and sodium that having enough water in your body can offer. In the end, if you dehydrate your body to a dangerous level, your kidneys can begin to shut down, and you can be at risk of becoming seriously ill or even dead. It’s more than merely feeling thirsty.
When you are mildly dehydrated, your urine will appear to be a dark yellow color, you’ll have a dry or sticky mouth, you won’t urinate a lot, your skin will be dry and cool, your muscles will cramp, and you might get a headache too.
However, if you are severely dehydrated, you will have dark urine, dry skin, a rapid heart rate and breathing, and you will feel dizzy. You will also have sunken eyes, feel sleepy, may even faint, and can have a lack of energy while feeling confused or irritable. It only gets worse from then on in.
It Forms Poor Eating Habits
In the short term, cutting weight without advice and direction from a nutrition specialist can be dangerous. Even though the short-term effects are bad enough, the long-term ones can be even more so. An MMA fighter will follow a strict eating and drinking schedule for much of their career – involving fasting then bingeing. Not only does this affect your body physically, but your mind mentally. You are more likely to struggle with your eating habits long after your MMA career is over.
It Increases Your Likelihood of Injury
Even though cutting weight, according to most sports news outlets, can land you in a lower weight class, it doesn’t always increase your chances of success. Because you only have a short window to prepare your body for the fight, you are unlikely to get it back to its peak condition. Some research even shows that as many as 40 percent of those MMA fighters hitting the ring are doing so while still suffering from severe dehydration. You can’t fight at your best when you are not feeling at your best.
You are Vulnerable to Concussions
When you deprive your body of vital fluids it requires to function; you are at a higher risk of concussion. Your body cannot produce enough cerebral spinal fluid, making you vulnerable to brain injuries and shock, among other conditions too.
It Can Cause Seizures
When an MMA fighter begins to cut down their weight to get into a lower weight class, they often do so with the guidance and advice of a nutritionist and doctor. However, even if you take all the precautions, your body can still react adversely to what you are doing. Seizures can be an unwelcome side effect of cutting weight (or water).
You will not be getting enough electrolytes like potassium and sodium, which means electrical signals are not making their way to your cells. The messages, as a result, get all mixed up, and you can find yourself experiencing involuntary muscle contractions and spasms – while you are unconscious or conscious.
You Are at Risk of Hypovolemic Shock
Hypovolemic shock, or low blood volume shock, is not common but it can happen. It’s a severe and often life-threatening condition brought on by dehydration. If you experience a low blood volume, your blood pressure can drop which then causes a drop in how much oxygen is in your body. This condition can be fatal.
You Can Overheat
Think about the last time you went to the beach. It sure was hot, wasn’t it? You had sweat running down your face, and you took the time to sip on a refreshing beverage to replace what the sun took from you. When you are an MMA fighter, cutting weight and severely dehydrating your body, you’re messing with your body’s natural cooling system.
Then, if you head into the ring having not entirely rehydrated your body, you are sweating out what little water your body has left, and it cannot cool you down as a result. You may end up with mild to severe heat cramps, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion. All of these heat-related conditions can be serious and even life-threatening.
Who Has Suffered the Consequences of Weight Cutting?
Former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks
Johny tried to cut 26 pounds in three days, which caused him severe pain, intestinal blockage, and kidney stones. His fight was cancelled as a result.
Former UFC fighter Rory Markham
Rory cut down to the welterweight limit but suffered extreme cramping and a collapsed lung.
Former bantamweight champion Renan Barao
Renan stood up in the bath during his weight cutting process, passed out, and hit his head, waking up in the hospital. He had to withdraw from the fight and didn’t receive a pay check.
Cutting weight is an effective way in which to get the ultimate edge over your opponent. Unfortunately, it also comes with substantial risks. While you might end up triumphant and in on the front page of MMA news, you can also end up seriously injured, ill, or even dead.
Article written by Stella Sartika. Images courtesy of photographers noted
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