Lately, it seems there has been a rash of fighters who have missed weight. At Elite XC on May 31, it was Gina Carano. At UFC 85, it was Thiago Alves. Now, for the Elite XC event in Hawaii it is Nick Diaz.
With Carano, she stated that the recent missed weight cut was due to the fact that she tried to cut too much weight too quickly.
Her weight on American Gladiators was reportedly around 160 pounds. Her bout with Kaitlin Young was to be contested at 140 pounds. Carano notified Elite XC officials ahead of time that she would miss the cut (she weighed in at 144.5 pounds) and had to forfeit 12.5 percent of her purse.
It is rumored that when Carano fights again in October, the bout will be held at 145 pounds because Carano is just unable to make 140 pounds. That fight may be for the Elite XC women's title.
Alves claimed in a recent interview that his missed weight cut was due to the combination of spraining his ankle (not being able to run) and taking a cortisone injection to reduce the swelling, which led to him retaining water.
This is not the first time Alves has had issues related to weight. In a previous fight, he tested positive for a diuretic that he took to help cut water weight.
He notified the UFC ahead of time that he would miss weight and had to forfeit 10 percent of his purse. After his recent fight, when he weighed in at 174 pounds (the weight limit was 171), he called out GSP and said, "Mr. Dana White, I've been a good boy, I never choose my opponents. ... Please give me a title shot."
The question here is whether or not after missing weight he needs to prove that he can make weight before getting a title shot.
And now the most recent fighter to miss weight is Nick Diaz, who was supposed to fight at 160 pounds but weighed in at 169 pounds. The bout will now be held at a catch weight of 168 pounds.
Diaz's last fight was held at 170 pounds on May 11 at DREAM 3. Diaz notified Elite XC and his opponent, Muhsin Corbbrey, ahead of time that he would miss the cut and will have to forfeit a portion of his purse. Corbbrey also missed the cut, as he weighed in at 163.5 but this was after he knew Diaz would miss the cut.
So three fighters have recently missed their weight cuts and all have their reasons. One is believed to be next in line for the title and one has begged for a title shot.
To send a message to the other fighters out there, the respective organizations need to force them to make weight before they are granted a title shot.
This is especially true with Alves. If he can't make weight, he should be cut from the UFC. I believe these measures would help ensure fighters make weight for their fights.
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3 months ago
I am of the understanding that the Diaz fight was a catch weight fight of 168 before the weigh-ins. It isn't like the Alves fight were he missed weight then had a catch weight.
from 3 months ago
Yeah they changed it to a catch weight when Diaz notified them that he would be unable to make 160 pounds but he still has to forfeit part of his purse according to an report I saw.
3 months ago
We can leave Diaz to the realization that he has his own issues, making weight being the least of his concerns.
Carrano bothered me, Alves did, too, to a lesser extent. They were both fighting top level competition and it made me wonder if the forfeit of the money was intentional to have an edge. It is just speculation, but you never know.
3 months ago
I wasn't happy with Carano missing weight, but I think her situation is the most understandable. American Gladiators required her to put on weight. They actually required her to weigh at minimum 150, but encourged her to be heavier (and I'm guessing she was). So after her commitment to A.G. was over, she only had 3 weeks to cut down to 140. She's said all along that she's doing A.G. to help push women's MMA. Now she's had issues in the past with making the cut, so she should have just asked that the fight be at 145 or something since it was on such a huge stage. But I can see her whole situation in this 1 case being more understandable.
Alves - no excuse. This was a fight that would have given him a shot against GSP or Fitch (whoever wins). Diaz - holy crap, 169! 169 is much heavier than 163, and you know his opponent would have made weight if Diaz were closer.
Yeah, I agree, this is not a good trend. Losing !0-15% of a purse doesn't seem to matter that much to some fighters.
3 months ago
man I think It is crap that Carano will get a "title shot" after not making weight. And I think it is crap that there is only one women's belt! They have to institute at least three chick weight classes to be fair. It is like if you don't weight 130-160 you have no shot at a big fight. And as far as the UFC fighters not making weight or the fighters in other big leagues not making weight that is crap. If people are going to be in the spotlight to give MMA a good name they should feel it is their responsibility to take it seriously.
3 months ago
I would bet that Kim "Sugar Free" Couture will make weight for her upcoming fight with Randy "the Natural" Couture in her corner.
3 months ago
If Alves has a continuing problem with cutting weight he should have to move up a weight class with a return policy which will end in him being disqualified if he doesn't show a promise of making the weight. He should be checked continuously during his training and if 3 weeks before he doesn't show signs of easily obtaining the weight he is supposed to fight at pull him from the card. Fighting at a catch weight when you are trying to get a title shot is garbage, and it doesn't matter if he won or lost it should not be taken into consideration since it wasn't fought at the weightclass. If they are going to move up the weight to help Gina make weight then other fighter can take advantage of that too.
from 3 months ago
The promotions should also be held accountable. If they keep bailing out their stars by setting catch-weight fights, it sends a message you can miss weight for a 12% purse deduction. I bet if they didn't let those fighters that missed weight to fight (thus forfeiting a whole purse) things would change.
If Alves wasn't permitted to fight Hughes do you think he would ever miss weight again?
The companies have to take some responsibility and not allow their fighters to miss weight. I don't think they need to babysit them like you are suggesting just level heavier punishment, folks will make weight if it costs them fifty grand.
from 3 months ago
pulling them from the card that close to a fight would cause a space on their time card though and they wouldn't do that. I think we are just going to see the set divisions get torn apart by guys that don't feel like making the weight. I mean Alves tested positive for a diuretic...that isn't professional at all, whatever happened to sitting on a bike in a sweatsuit.
from 3 months ago
Space on their time card? isn't that why you have nine or more fights in an evening?
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