Cris Cyborg Nutritionist: Controversial Birth Control Method Was Cleared by Doc

Because of her efforts to reach the 140-pound weight limit stipulated by the UFC, Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino, widely regarded as the best female MMA fighter in the world today, has been at the center of some weight-cutting controversy.

Ahead of her UFC Fight Night 95 meeting with Lina Lansberg on Saturday in Brazil, video posted to Cyborg's YouTube page showed she used birth control in her efforts to cut weight. Monday, a member of her camp revealed that, though Cyborg was reluctant to do it, a doctor approved the method.

That's according to George Lockhart, a nutritionist and former MMA fighter who's been associated with big names such as Conor McGregor, Robbie Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos, among others.

Lockhart handled the steep weight cut for Cyborg and first suggested—over Cyborg's objections—that she use birth control as a weight-cutting tool, though he "cannot prescribe birth control," nor is he a registered dietician or medical doctor, per USA Today's A.J. Perez, Steven Marrocco and Mike Bohn.

Speaking on The MMA Hour broadcast with host Ariel Helwani, Lockhart detailed the various factors he said were involved in the roughly 30-pound weight cut Cyborg undertook prior to her win over Lansberg.

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According to Lockhart, the prime complicating factor for Cyborg and other female fighters is the added potential for water retention in some women. In Cyborg's case, stress and a lack of sleep were also factors, Lockhart said.   

"Women and men are totally different," he said. "Men fluctuate a lot in terms of water because they hold a lot more muscle than women. ... If you include the amount of stress during fight week, again, [women are] going to hold water, and then the lack of sleep [exacerbates water retention]. ... She had not slept, she'd just flown in, which is also going to make you hold on to water."

However, perhaps the key difference, in Lockhart's opinion, is the menstrual cycle, which he said can cause 12 to 13 pounds of water retention in some women and began for Cyborg during the week leading up to UFC Fight Night 95.

That timing is what triggered Lockhart's recommendation Cyborg use birth control as a weight-cutting tool—a tactic that drew attention last week when Cyborg's team released videos it shot documenting her cut. During that video, Cyborg told Lockhart that "it's my body, not your body" when he advised her to take the birth control, precipitating a heated exchange between them.

Lockhart said Monday that Cyborg's doctor cleared his recommendation: "One thing I did want to go over is to say, 'OK, she has sporadic periods, and when that happens, we tend to go up [in weight] a lot.' What I wanted is lighter periods, a little bit more regularity.

"It was something that we wanted to address. ... [Birth control] is something I brought to her attention, she spoke with her doctor, and at the end of the day, Cris is very disciplined, Cris is very regimented, and she's just like every other fighter."

Lockhart added that Cyborg faced the same scenario during her last cut, which occurred in advance of her UFC 198 debut, an 81-second knockout of Leslie Smith, May 14 in Brazil.

"The last camp, this was something that we faced," Lockhart said. "And we want it to get easier and easier and easier. ... There are so many different variables in a weight cut."

Cyborg's weight cut has drawn major attention in recent weeks and months. The cut itself is quite steep, beginning when Cyborg weighs about 170 pounds. In the case of her main event bout Saturday, the cut ended officially at 141 pounds (although that number was not without controversy either).

Another portion of the documentary released last week also drew widespread attention for depicting the mechanics of her cut in detail, including protracted periods of visible agony for the fighter.

The lack of a women's 145-pound featherweight division in the UFC and Cyborg's inability to make the 135-pound women's bantamweight limit have been a source of controversy throughout her career, most notably when then-champion Ronda Rousey refused to face Cyborg unless she could reach the bantamweight limit.

Cyborg's difficulty on the scale stands in contrast to her dominance in the cage, where she (17-1-1) is the unchallenged best in her field. Saturday's win over Lansberg was her seventh straight knockout win and her second straight in the UFC. The 31-year-old Cyborg also holds the featherweight title with the all-female Invicta promotion.