It’s no secret that UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman is at least perceived as one of the biggest fighters in the division. He’s tall and rangy with a long reach, and he’s expressed a desire to move up to light heavyweight in the future.The story of him having to drop 34 pounds in 10 days to make 186 pounds on short notice for his fight with Demian Maia is legendary. It’s not necessarily reflective of his actual, in-shape, in-competition weight, though, as he explained to MMA Junkie Radio this week.
Having hired a nutritionist and given up on drinking alcohol in advance of his title defense at UFC 194. Weidman said that “I’m more like a 170-pounder [before cutting weight]. I weigh like 192, 193 (pounds) in the morning. I’ve got my weight down really low for this one.” He’s defending his title against Luke Rockhold, who’s one of the middleweights thought to easily match him size wise. It’ll be interesting to see how they look next to each other.
Weidman also avoided one specific bad habit that has caused issues for other fighters: “I really didn’t get out of shape between fights, and it kept my weight down low.” In light of the ban on intravenous rehydration, Weidman may be the first of the UFC’s champions to manage his weight the old-fashioned way.
