Former UFC strawweight queen Carla Esparza is cutting weight like a champ.
Weight cutting can be a dangerous game, which is why seeing top-level fighters like Carla Esparza do it the right way is wonderful.
It wasn’t that long ago when everyone witnessed Dada 5000 get stretchered out of the Bellator ring with the help of Oxygen after being knocked out by the late, great Kimbo Slice. Dhafir Harris’ heart stopped, his kidneys failed and he acknowledged that one of the main contributing factors to this was shedding 40 lbs in just a few months.
More recently we saw one of the most intriguing fights of the year, the interim UFC lightweight title fight set to co-headline UFC 209 fall through because of a botched weight cut from Khabib Nurmagomedov. The undefeated Dagestani was rushed to hospital the night before the weigh-ins in excruciating pain.
Legitimately hard to watch https://t.co/wyDk0cSntr
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 27, 2017
The healthiest way to make weight is to not leave all the cutting until the last minute. The UFC introduced new measures in 2016 in an effort to eliminate extreme cutting among their roster.
UFC fighters are encouraged to be no more than 8% heavier than the limit of the weight class in which they are competing at the start of fight week. Their daily weight, vitals and hydration levels are all monitored in the last days before fight night and fighters dipping below safe levels could be pulled from their bouts.
Esparza was well within that weight range before her recent fight against Maryna Moroz at UFC Oklahoma. ‘The Cookie Monster’ posted a photo on Twitter claiming that she cut just four pounds to make the 116 lb limit.
I cut 4lbs for this fight…. it's all about that long term dieting, not the drastic cuts. 🙅🏻@dacikfitfoods #mealprep #healthfirst pic.twitter.com/4BnzVqfylj
— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) June 27, 2017
The smooth weight cut worked out pretty well for Esparza as she scored an emphatic unanimous decision victory over Moroz in OKC. The judges scored the contest 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in her favour.
