What weight class are Topuria and Volkanovski in? What is the UFC courtesy pound?
Weight cuts in the UFC are often one of the most demanding parts of a fighter’s preparation. In most cases, there is a small margin if the fighter can’t make weight.
The UFC is one of the companies where fighters cut the most weight before their fights. Some mixed martial artists like Alex Pereira or Kamaru Usman lose between 33 and 44 pounds in a few days and more than half of those in the previous hours before the weigh-ins.
Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria usually have to lose lots of weight too to be able to fight in their division. The Spanish-Georgian fighter admitted that to him weight cuts are the hardest thing to deal with during fight week.
The main event, which will take place on Saturday in Anaheim, California, will take place at featherweight. That means that on Friday morning, Ilia and Alex must be at 145, otherwise the fight could still be celebrated if both men agree but there wouldn’t be any belts on the line. There would also be a salary reduction for the fighter who didn’t make weight.
How do UFC fighters cut weight?
The weight cuts that UFC fighters do usually have two parts. The first one consists of a decrease in the percentage of body fat and an anthropometry adjustment, carried out with previous studies of the fighter’s muscular composition. Here a specific training plan is key, as well as a reduction in the amount of food ingested by the fighter and an almost complete absence of carbohydrates in the diet.
The second part of the weight cut and the hardest one is dehydration. Sauna and exercising with clothing that stimulates perspiration or constant temperature changes make the body extremely dehydrated, helping the fighter lose up to 19 pounds in the hours before the weigh-ins. This part of the weight cut is the most dangerous one, and that’s why it’s always supervised by medical staff.