Why are UFC/MMA fighters heavier during the fight when compared to weigh ins? Then,What is the point of weigh ins and weight classes?

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Why are UFC/MMA fighters heavier during the fight when compared to weigh ins? Then,What is the point of weigh ins and weight classes?

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5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I would guess from rehydrating and eating. Boxers do that too and its noticed when they get in the ring. Fighters have to be comfortable fighting at a certain weight minus the extra weight which affects stamina and cardio. They dont want to have a lot of water weight from food and hydrating. Its easy to lose water weight but just a quick to put it back on.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The weigh in takes place prior to the fight, but close to the fight. The purpose is to ensure that both fighters are of similar weight so that the fight is “fair”. Conventional thinking would say that the fighters should train at that weight for a while. But what they do instead is train at a heavier weight. They want the extra strength, muscle, etc. They might be a few days away from the weigh in and be several pounds overweight. Then what they do is take extreme measures to quickly lose water weight. They will stop drinking and exert themselves to lose lots of sweat. They drop several pounds very quickly. They weigh in just under the limit, and then the next day rehydrate. It’s to gain an advantage.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Former Wrestler: The weigh-in process (in general) is a bid to qualify in a weight class beneath yourself so that you have a weight advantage on your opponent in the match.

Because of that, I would purposely dehydrate myself before weigh-ins by doing things like wearing sweatpants, getting into a thick sleeping bag and going to sleep for a few hours before weigh-in to sweat out moisture. Then, after weigh-in, I would rehydrate.

There is more to it, but this is ELI5 after all. I hope this helps you understand the discrepancy in weight from weigh-in to match.

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you’re trying to win a fight against someone, your only goal is to win, and you’d want whatever advantage that you can get. This means that you want to be stronger, faster, have more stamina, etc. than your opponent. To prevent an absolute hulk of a human being from squashing a much smaller opponent, the weight class system exists (because as much as you want to win, there needs to be some fairness for honor and integrity of sport). The weight class system ensures that, assuming that both bodies are capable of training the same amount, their skill would be the determining factor to decide the victor. But people want every advantage over their opponents as possible. If you know that there are a few pounds of weight in your body that is useless, ie. water, liquid, fecal matter, getting rid of that weight to put you in a lower weight class would mean gaining the extra advantage over someone comparably small and less powerful opponent. In order to shed this extra weight, fighters fast for a day or more, not drinking or eating anything, which can decrease this excess weight by a few pounds, enough to bump them down a weight class

Anonymous 0 Comments

No one here has answered you yet. Are they that thick?

I don’t have an answer neither, but I agreed with what you’re implying. There is no point I can see to having weigh in so far off from the competition. This leads to unnecessarily dangerous dehydration/rehydration. Perhaps the answer is just because it’s the ‘tradition.’

This norm is not everywhere tho. Olympic weightlifting starts competing 2 hours after weigh ins, so those athletes are actually trained and strong at their listed weights.