Today marks the culmination of a 6 week process. Six weeks ago I decided to put myself through a MMA weight cut in hopes of better understanding what UFC athletes go through leading up to their fights.
I interviewed many of the fighters on tomorrow’s UFC 177 main card and all of them had to cut some amount of weight in preparation for their fight. Going through the process with them has given me a greater appreciation for those athletes and their sacrifices.
I’ve dieted for 6 straight weeks, put in hours of training and have gone through 2 dehydration cycles. This article is my reward; this article is my fight night.
My journey has been building toward this moment and I must say that I’m glad that it’s over. Not that I didn’t enjoy the challenge but the physical and mental aspects of the weight cut took a toll on me.
In case you haven’t followed along from the beginning, here’s a quick recap:
– I began on July 17th and I weighed 222.8 at my initial weigh in.
– I planned to drop down to the light heavyweight UFC division by UFC 177.
– I reached 205 lbs on August 13th, which spurred me to push myself and try for the Middleweight division of 185 lbs.
– My diet consisted entirely of home cooked meals. I eliminated all white carbs and only sparingly ate brown carbs. I also tried to double my carb intake with protein daily. I also drank 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of water a day. Staying hydrated transformed my body shape and kept my skin tight while losing such drastic amounts of weight.
– The sauna sessions helped out a lot. The use of Albolene and plastic wraps made me sweat like I’ve never sweat before in my life and it removed a lot of the excess water weight.
My weigh in occurred today at 12pm pst and I’m proud to say that I weighed in at 188.2 lbs.
It was 3 pounds short of my 185 lb goal but given the usual UFC mandated 2 hours to cut more weight I could’ve hit the sauna once more to shed the 2 pounds needed to fight. Even 188 lbs is a major accomplishment for me. I haven’t weighed in sub-190 since high school and knowing that I could push my body to lengths equal to some of the best athletes in the world puts a smile on my face.
In total, 35 lbs was lost during my 6 week weight cut.
I’d like to thank a few people that helped me in this process. I’d like to thank my editor here at BlackSportsOnline, Robert Littal. Robert has always let me challenge myself and never holds me back creatively. I’m glad to be at a site that appreciates true journalism and lets me showcase my talents.
I also want to thank Glenn Ramirez for being the best cross-fit trainer in Las Vegas. I never had a plateau because I could always call him for an adjustment in my diet or training.
Last, but not least, I’d like to thank my family for knowing that I’m crazy and excepting it. Not many people understood why I choose to put myself through such a tough process without the satisfaction of a UFC fight at the end. My family knows how much being a great journalist means to me and I thank them for their unwavering support.
Now, It’s time for me to enjoy rehydrating. I’ll have coverage of UFC 177 for BlackSportsOnline and I look forward to bringing our readers better MMA coverage in the near future.
Thank you for following along with my journey!