Someone is going to die cutting weight – Fighter cannot stand on own, allowed to fight
When cutting weight goes wrong
Weight cutting has long been a problem in combat sports. Most every competitor wants to have the size advantage over their opponent, so sometimes drastic measures are taken to get there. Several athletic commissions are doing their due diligence to curb incidents and hazards from happening. California State Athletic Commission has introduced a plan that requires competitors to cut over a prolonged period of time with regular check-ins to ensure they are on track. Despite efforts by various, not every location worldwide is overly concerned, and issues in cutting weight still linger.
Over the weekend a fighter who could not physically stand on his own was not only allowed to weigh-in, but also to fight.
Daniel Lima weighed in on Saturday for Pancrase 290 in Tokyo, Japan. With the help of his team Lima was lifted up and escorted to the scales.
There have been weight cutting issues with most every UFC card in recent memory. Whether a fighter pulls himself off the card during fight week or medical officials do it for them, it is usually done before the point of no return.
What you see in the video above is completely unacceptable and everyone who allowed Lima to get to the point where his body completely shut down, should be ashamed.
In a time when fighters, promoters, and fans were pushing for mixed martial arts to be legalized and to be taken seriously, there are still selfish acts like these taking place.
“Since it was my first time outside of Brazil and I had no experience, I thought it would be easy,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “It was tough, painful.”
Lima ended up fighting the fight and dropping a decision, but at what cost?
“I was weak due to the extreme weight cut (at the weigh-ins), but I was really fine, 100 percent for the fight,” he said.
How could a competitor who could not stand on his own, and appeared to be lethargic and completely drained be completely fine 24 hours later?
We hear all too often about fighters’ organs shutting down, competitors being hospitalized, and worse. We have seen several deaths occur inside the cage and ring, but none yet on the big stage.
Earlier this year Australian mixed martial arts competitor, Craig Booth was in critical condition after he was found collapsed under hot towels in a bath.
Will it really take a fighter dying inside the UFC octagon before drastic changes are implemented overnight to the process of cutting weight?
