With weight-cutting drama seemingly at an all-time high, it was reported last week that the UFC was seriously considering putting an end to early morning weigh-ins, in favor of returning to the old format of late afternoon weigh-ins.
With the speculation of weigh-in changes, came a flood of fighters who voiced their support for the early morning weigh-ins, hoping to convince UFC President Dana White not to make the change. Many fighters claimed that it allowed them more time to recover and re-hydrate. At the UFC 225 post-fight press conference, White confirmed that the plans were set in stone:
“Yeah, we talked to more fighters and they want 4 o’clock [PM] weigh-ins… we’ve studied it. The numbers don’t lie. We’ve talked to fighters. There’s a ton of fighters that want to go back to 4 o’clock and there’s a lot of fighters that don’t… It’s just not working. No matter what, there’s no debate about this. We’re going to 4 o’clock.”
Understandably, many are pessimistic about this change. Ultimately, changing the time of weigh-ins does not make it any safer for fighters to be cutting drastic amounts of weight during fight week. This is no more than a band-aid solution to a problem which many consider to be the worst part of an otherwise beautiful sport. It is unknown how soon these changes will be implemented.
Do you agree with the UFC’s plan to end early morning weigh-ins?
