The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) appears to be working towards a strategy for dealing with fighters who fail to make weight.
UFC 209 saw one of the most high-profile last minute fight drop-outs when Khabib Nurmagomedov was hospitalized with complications due to weight cutting. While fans were left bitterly disappointed, there was collective empathy for Tony Ferguson who completed a full training camp in vain due to his opponents inability to adequately meet the conditions to fight.
Many observers cited a lack of professionalism on the Russian’s (Nurmagomedov) part, considering the history “The Eagle” has had in the past with pulling out of bouts. The lightweight’s omission from the bout was not met with any official penalty, but instances like the one witnessed prior to UFC 209 could be dealt with more severely in the future.
MMA Fighting reported on Tuesday that in addition a fine of 20 percent taken from a fighter’s “show” money, CSAC will also deduct from the fighter’s “win” money. In effect, a further 20% of the fighter’s cut (no pun intended) will be payable to his opponent if they fail to make weight.
The CSAC are also looking to impose stricter enforcement on extreme weight cutting. A host of new changes is expected to be announced by CSAC at some point in 2017.
