Kevin Lee believes that by the time there is a solution for weight cutting issues, it’ll be too late.
Lee has had to use a towel for a couple of bouts before tipping the scales. “The Motown Phenom” missed weight for the first time in his professional mixed martial arts career ahead of his bout with Edson Barboza at UFC Atlantic City. Lee has been pushing for a 165-pound division for a while.
Even Lee’s former opponent Michael Chiesa wants a 165-pound weight class. “The Maverick” will be moving up to welterweight after saying he felt like he would die cutting down to 155 pounds for his fight with Anthony Pettis. Chiesa missed weight for that bout.
During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Lee said higher ups are taking the wrong approach when it comes to finding a solution:
“Everybody knows that this weight-cutting thing is a problem, but nobody is coming up with no f*cking solutions. Everybody is kind of waiting for somebody to die. And I don’t feel like that’s the right thing to do. I think you have to take at least one step in the right direction and then just see how it goes. There’s really no downside to it.”
Lee explained why the introduction of new weight classes is one direction that may best serve the UFC and its fighters:
“Most people, especially 155ers that I talk to, they all want it. We all are about the same size. A lot of these [lightweights] are [185, 190]. … We’re all doing the same thing to compete against each other. It doesn’t make sense. If we can make it a little bit safer and we can make it a little bit more fair, that’s all I’m calling for. Just a fair, even playing field for me to go out there and compete with somebody without having to kill myself to do it.”
What is your take on weight cutting issues in MMA, and do you agree with Kevin Lee?
