Weight cuts — the bane of a fighter’s existence! For many fighters, making weight is the toughest battle, and fighting is the easy part.
So, let’s clarify a some terminology around what it means to ‘make weight.’ There’s dieting: essentially eating less, or eating only certain foods so the body slowly gets rid of fat. And the water cut: sweating so the body temporarily becomes lighter for a short period of time — followed by re-hydration. Both these terms together are what cutting weight consists of.
In ideal circumstances a fighter will diet slowly and healthily through caloric reduction over a number of months and weeks, and then – the night before and the morning of weigh-ins – finish lowering their weight by sweating out a smaller number of pounds. Immediately after weigh-ins, the fighter drinks and eats to refuel him or herself, so they feel good on fight day.