Wednesday, October 05, 2011 Eliminate weight-cutting from combat
sports by controlling for water weight There IS an alternative.
Instead of having fighters actually go through the process of
losing water weight, blood samples could be used to measure the
water content of bodily fluids and calculate how much additional
water weight the person could safely lose, without their
actually having to lose it. Subtract that amount of "excess"
water weight from the fighter's scale-weight to get their weigh-
in weight. This water-controlled weigh-in weight would arguably
be a fairer measure of fighting weight than the weight-cutting
system produces. Fighters with the same water-controlled weigh-
in weight would have the same tissue mass, sans fluids. Thus a
fighter who has been exceptionally good at cutting and regaining
water weight, like current UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo,
will lose his size advantage. Aldo (who needs no size advantage)
has been consistently larger than his opponents come fight time.
Under a wate