UFC
Topuria makes perfect weight: the single biggest factor revealed
UFC star Ilia Topuria talks about the process of losing weight to meet the scales in his film ‘Topuria: Matador’.
Making weight is one of the toughest challenges for many fighters. Reaching the agreed weight limit is a demanding task, and diet plays a crucial role. Ilia Topuria competes in the featherweight division, requiring him to weigh in at 65.8 kilograms (145 pounds). During his preparation for February’s title fight against Alexander Volkanovski in Anaheim, California, his team as well as his partner Giorgina Uzcategui paid meticulous attention to every detail to minimize his suffering during this process.
“When I arrived in Las Vegas this time, I saw him much more prepared physically and nutritionally than the last time,” revealed Glenn Castro, a UFC nutritionist, in the documentary Topuria: Matador. Aldo Martínez, his strength and conditioning coach, told us at AS that the preparation for Volkanovski had been the best of Topuria’s career—until the training camp for his fight against Max Holloway. The team constantly strives for daily improvements.
Topuria “going to hell and back”
Giorgina was a key part of this effort. “When we were in Jacksonville (for the fight against Josh Emmett), the weight cut for him was really hard. I describe it as going to hell and back. That’s when I decided we needed to work on his nutrition,” said Topuria’s partner and the mother of his child. Gio coordinated closely with Aldo, making this the smoothest weight cut yet. “She made our job spectacularly easier,” confirmed Martínez.
This time, the team implemented all the knowledge they had gained through the grueling weight-cutting process. Remarkably, they even had to tell Topuria to eat more—something almost unthinkable for fighters, who often starve and dehydrate themselves in the days leading up to weigh-ins.
“The weight cut was so effective that we were afraid he might lose too much and not rebound as expected afterward,” explained Jorge Climent, one of his coaches. With rehydration and proper nutrition, Topuria was expected to regain about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) after the weigh-in. By fight night, he weighed in at 76 kilograms (167 pounds) when he stepped into the cage.
The weight-cutting process for fighters
In combat sports, fighters are divided into weight classes to ensure fairness and safety, ensuring opponents are evenly matched when they step into the ring or cage. Fighters undergo rigorous diets and training regimens to hit their target weight, only to experience a “rebound effect” after weigh-ins.
This process involves a combination of caloric restriction, increased physical activity, sweat suits, saunas, and a strict limitation of liquid intake, especially water. This dehydration can result in a short-term loss of several kilograms. Once they make weight, fighters begin to rehydrate and eat gradually, often regaining as much as 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in just one day. Most of the weight lost is water. This grueling process demands immense sacrifice and, for many fighters, is harder than the fight itself.
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