Should Weight Cutting be Banned in all Combat Sports?

In an interview with Submission Radio, UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson said that he thinks fighters should fight at their natural weight.

He stated that it is, “Not good for your health, it’s not good for your brain. It’s just, it’s not good.”

Nelson is a training partner of Conor McGregor, who he said cuts a huge amount of weight to make featherweight.

Last year, a fighter actually died from attempting to cut too much weight, and many fighters have been hospitalized due to weight cutting.

Weight cutting in MMA is something that a lot of people talk about, but what about other combat sports?

Boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, and other sports that require you to stay at a certain weight also have athletes who cut weight.

Attempting to lose a large amount of weight has been shown to be dangerous, but competitors still continue to try and cut weight.

I had plenty of teammates on my wrestling team starve themselves and kill themselves on the treadmill just to compete in a lower weight class.

In my opinion, drastic weight cuts should not be allowed in any sport. Losing a few pounds because of a hard workout is understandable, but dehydrating yourself has proven to be way too dangerous.

How can this problem be solved?

Adding more weight classes would be a good start. Boxing has a too many weight classes at the professional level, but grappling and MMA do not have enough.

That is just a start. Athletes will always try to make the lowest weight class if they think it will give them an advantage.

The proper education is also necessary. Cutting large amounts of weight is bad for your body, and athletes need to know that.

Having the fighters weigh in right before they fight would be another way to deter weight cutting in MMA and boxing.

There is no way to completely ban weight cutting, but I think it is time to start taking steps to make these sports safer.

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