UFC Fighter Scores Dominant Win After Struggling to Stand at Weigh-Ins

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At the UFC Argentina weigh-ins, UFC fighter Cynthia Calvillo could barely stand up.

The strawweight contender was wobbly from a bad weight cut, as she struggled to stay upright and nearly fell off the scale at one point. Many wondered aloud whether she should be permitted to fight on Saturday night, and even more questioned whether she could make the walk to the Octagon.

Not only did Calvillo make it to the cage in Buenos Aires, but she also dominated. Facing Poliana Botelho, Calvillo posted one of the best performances of her career, outmuscling the Brazilian and sinking in a rear-naked choke for the first-round finish.

The victory is impressive on multiple levels, but none more than how quickly she recovered from Friday's weigh-ins.

Before a bout, most sorts of combat athletes will shed pounds to compete in smaller weight classes in hopes of facing smaller opposition. MMA takes this to the extreme, however, as many fighters shed tens of pounds through dehydration and intense dieting. Some have honed this process to a science, and there's little doubt that this can pay dividends competitively.

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That said, it's still dangerous. A number of fighters  have died from  cutting weight, and while most of those tragedies happened overseas—in part due to lax oversight—there have been plenty of close calls stateside. The most notable example came when Dhafir "Dada 5000" Harris suffered a near-fatal heart attack during his 2016 fight with Kimbo Slice.

In the short term, the weight cut seemed to pay off for Calvillo. Long-term effects, however, could loom.