New Weight Cutting Rules Finally Start At UFC 200

Check out the report courtesy of ReviewJournal.com:

Along with increased education for athletes on proper weight-cutting techniques and rehydration methods during fight weeks and at athlete summits, the UFC has introduced a system of data collection and athlete monitoring of weight and vital signs that will enable the organization to create a database to track and analyze information on each fighter.

There is also a stipulation that all fighters, beginning the week of UFC 200, must be within 8 percent of their target weight when they check in for fight week, which generally occurs on a Tuesday before a Saturday fight.

A fighter who doesn’t fall within that range is subject to daily monitoring of weight and vitals throughout the week and will be required to attend weight management counseling before his or her next fight.

“The only hard and fast rule in there, and I think it’s probably the most important thing in terms of the guidelines, is that 8 percent number,” said Jeff Novitzky, the UFC vice president of athlete health and performance. “If they’re not, it’s not in the rules the fight won’t happen, but we sure are going to pay very close attention to them, including taking daily weight, daily vitals, and as it progresses, if they show signs of being dehydrated, they will be pulled from the fight.”

Novitzky said fighters are generally coming in under that number already, especially since an IV ban went into effect in October. In the past, fighters knew they could rehydrate with the use of an IV immediately after weigh-ins. That practice was banned as part of the UFC’s anti-doping policy, but Novitzky said it also has impacted weight cutting.

“It had a very surprising side effect in that it helped curtail extreme weight cuts,” he said. “You also see a whole bunch of fighters employing the services of nutritionists, so they are being smart about managing their weight. And the UFC is trying to provide as much as we can for the fighters that can’t afford a nutritionist. We’ve consulted with experts who have told us, ‘Hey, here’s the optimal things you want to be eating or drinking 24 hours before your fight, after the weigh in.’ So we provide that for the fighters.”