UFC 177 weigh ins are just 24 hours away and my deadline for making the middleweight weight limit is approaching quickly.
In case you are reading about my process this for the first time you can follow along from the beginning or read my article from a few days ago.
With only 24 hours before I take a step on the scale the pressure is mounting. I’m at the point where I won’t eat again until after weigh ins tomorrow and I’ll only have 1/2 gallon of water today while I finish dehydrating. The process is tough on my body physically but that’s nothing compared to how hard it has been mentally.
Dehydration when losing weight leaves your body physically able to perform but the mental fatigue is hard to overcome. I’ve had to push myself past barriers I didn’t even know i had. I’ve been to summer training camps for football and other sports but I’ve never had to train as hard as I’ve had for this weight cut.
One thing I haven’t written about is the mental strength and discipline it took to complete this process. I was constantly being asked by friends to drink or eat food while you are out. I had to constantly explain to people why I couldn’t indulge in fast food, alcohol, and carb heavy meals. One of the weirdest situations occurred when I had to turn down a friends food, that their parent made, because I couldn’t have carbs. They looked at me like it was the biggest disrespect ever. I had to explain exactly why I couldn’t eat it and I had to make sure they’d have a plate made for me on the 30th.
This may be the are in which I’ve gained the most appreciation for MMA fighters. It’s hard to turn down peer pressure and even harder when you’re turning down things people consider normal. The weight cutting process takes complete devotion and it effects not only the fighter but their families and friends.
Now back to tomorrow’s weight cut. I’m currently at 192 lbs and these last 7 lbs are the hardest to lose. I plan on hitting the sauna twice more before weigh ins and may also go for a midnight run. I refuse to go to any extreme limits for this weight cut because I want to press that these things be done within the boundaries of good health. I’ll cut as much water weight as possible and hopefully I end up at 185 lbs tomorrow.
Not too bad for starting at 223.8 lbs and dropping two UFC weight classes.
Be sure to follow the last few hours of my weight cut on Instagram and Twitter as I’ll be posting up to and after the final weigh in on August 29th.