The debate surrounding extreme weight cuts in the UFC continues to rage on, and those opposing the potentially dangerous techniques employed by fighters have been given some extra ammunition for their argument today.
Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone is set to take on Al Iaquinta in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 151 in Ottawa tomorrow night, with the veteran fighter hoping to secure the 36th win of a long pro career. It will be his 31st fight in the UFC.
While Cerrone fought the majority of his early career at lightweight, he moved up to the welterweight division after his title fight loss to Rafael dos Anjos. After three consecutive losses in the weight class from in 2017, the decision was taken to move back to 155 pounds.
A fighter moving down a weight class at that stage of their career is an incredibly tough thing to do, as evidenced by Cerrone's weigh-in today. He looked like a zombie stepping on the scales in Canada, weighing in at 155.5 pounds.
Don't think I've ever seen him look this bad on the scale. Scary. https://t.co/lkyUIV0Dqt
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) May 3, 2019
Scenes such as this are becoming a regular occurrence in the UFC, as fighters continue to try and cut huge amounts of weight. Cerrone is 6"1' and 36-years old, so you can imagine the extent of the cut that was required here.
This is sure to add to the continuing debate around weight cuts in the UFC. Speaking on his podcast recently, Joe Rogan said the organisation need to update their outdated system:
The only argument for it is that the guys who are tough enough to do it, and cut a shit load of weight, have this massive size advantage and sometimes it allows them to win. They think they should be allowed to do it because they are tough enough to cut all that weight.
It's hard to do, you have to be a strong person. I just don't think it's good for anybody. It's not good for the athletes, it's not good for the sport. I don't think it's good for anybody.
It's just an old thing people are doing so they don't have to fight the bigger people.
