Weight cutting has been one of the most problematic issues in the sport of mixed martial arts, and there have been multiple solutions presented that could help combat it. One solution is to increase the weight classes, with a weight class for every 10 pounds, including the long-rumored 165-pound division. Earlier this year, Dana White vowed that the UFC would change the early weigh-ins to the evening, as the UFC had done for years in the past. The UFC would quietly move away from that idea, as there have been no visible change in the weigh-in schedule nor any word on when a change could happen. #12-ranked welterweight Gunnar Nelson has another idea to solve the weight-cutting issue: eliminate it completely.
“I think they should get rid of (weight cutting) because I think it’s ridiculous to be honest,” Nelson told mmamania.com. “A lot of those guys, almost everybody cuts a huge amount of weight.
“I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s gone too far. And I think nobody likes it.”
There have been many notable weigh-cutting issues in recent years, including in 2018, with names like Mackenzie Dern, Darren Till, and even UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway under the spotlight for their struggles. Gunnar Nelson argues that the health-related issues connected to weight-cutting puts the onus on the powers that be to end the brutal practice:
“It’s not good for your health and it can really mess up fighters and take fighters away from fighting for a while,” Nelson said. It’s done that in the past, and it will continue doing that. People are cutting more and more weight….and they need to get that sorted.”
Do you agree with Gunnar Nelson? Should weight cutting be eliminated from the sport of MMA?
