KEY POINTS

  • ONE Championship's hydration testing makes sense in solving the weight-cutting problem
  • UFC bantamweight Aspen Ledd's weigh-in has put the issue back into the spotlight
  • MMA personality Joe Rogan has called for the outright banning of the practice in the past

Weight cutting has been a major problem for combat sports, but ONE Championship’s unique weigh-in policy may be the answer to keeping athletes safe.

“We don’t use the term weight cutting because there is no cutting,” said ONE Championship vice president Rich Franklin to MMAMania.com in 2017.

“The only way we can ensure they’ll actually compete at the weight they walk around at is by hydration testing. We use an instrument to test the specific gravity of their urine, which tests how much solutes are in their urine. Obviously, the more [solutes] you have, the more dehydrated you are.”

The dangers of weight cutting have played a major part in the Asian promotion’s decision to go this route.

In December 2015, flyweight fighter Yang Jian Bing tragically passed away due to complications with weight cutting.

This past weekend, UFC bantamweight Aspen Ladd was barely able to stand during her weigh-in, leading to her fight with Macy Chiasson being canceled despite making weight.

MMA personality and UFC commentator Joe Rogan has never been a big fan of the process, even calling for the outright banning of it back in June.

This would not be the first time that Rogan has advocated for its abolishment as he made his case against cutting weight in a 2019 episode of his podcast, among many other instances.

With the policy, ONE Championship athletes will be asked to compete at their “walking weight” instead of following a weight-cutting regimen that is focused on losing water weight.

To enforce the policy, Franklin shared that the promotion is ready for all outcomes.

“We can negotiate a catchweight. We have parameters for that. They have to be at least 105 percent of their opponent’s weight [by fight night],” he told MMAMania in the same 2017 interview.

ONE Championship’s unique policy lessens the chances that a fight will be canceled due to a fighter not making weight.

Weight cutting has always been a major part of the sport of mixed martial arts, but the Singapore-based promotion may have found a better solution to a long-existing problem.

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