Outside Source
Fighters missing weight has always been an issue in the sport of mixed martial arts and 2018 has been no different.
Recently, it was confirmed by Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White that the weigh-in times for fighters will now take place in the afternoon rather than in the morning in an attempt to reduce the amount of fighters missing weight.
Former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson who has experienced his opponent missing weight in his recent bout against Darren Till and was a recent guest on BJPenn.com and was asked for his thoughts on the subject.
“I know Dana White was saying they wanted to go back to the 4 or 5 o’clock official weigh ins? My response to that would be ‘heck no’ man,” said Wonderboy in the interview. “During my last weight cut I was thinking how did I ever get through half of a day being down at 170. Not just a half a day but Thursday night and then you would have to keep that weight all the way up until like four or five o’clock the next day. I mean to have less time to rehydrate is just plain stupid. People are just being lazy. People just aren’t making weight because they know they can get away with it.”
Wonderboy continued, “It’s like yeah, OK, I have to forfeit 20 percent of my purse, but if I win I will move up the rankings and probably get paid more for my next fight. You know? The consequences just aren’t enough. It’s allowing people to get away with some major bullcrap. If the UFC implemented stricter penalties, like the fight doesn’t happen, or you have to give your opponent half of your purse, or you can’t move up the rankings if you miss weight, then I believe more people would be inclined to follow the rules.”
Wonderboy stated that he feels the majority of fighters are not on board with the decision to change the weigh-in times which is in contrast to what White has said.
“From what I’ve seen on social media, all of the fighters have made it pretty clear that they don’t want to go back to the old afternoon weigh ins,” said Wonderboy. “So I don’t know why they (the UFC) are still planning on doing that.”
Thompson said if the new weigh in time is implemented, it could result in fights being cancelled by the athletic commissions.
“I think it will eventually cause athletic commissions to cancel more fights,” said Thompson. “I mean look at Yoel Romero from UFC 225, there is no way he would have been allowed to fight had those weigh ins taken place at 4 or 5 p.m. No chance. That fight would have been called off for sure.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
