No New Eras
It has been an issue and a massive debate throughout the world of MMA and it seems to be going nowhere any time soon.
Weight cutting has always been a strange part of combat sports as fighters are constantly looking for any advantage that they can get.
One of the biggest advantages that they find is creating a size difference in fights with bigger fighters heading to smaller divisions.
To do that a lot of big fighters look to cut a lot of weight before they weigh in and when they enter the octagon they are almost two weight classes above.
By doing that they can be the bigger and stronger fighter using their strength and size to beat smaller guys and girls.
It is one of the most common strategies in the sport but it is one that comes with risks as weight cutting can be a legitimately dangerous thing.
Lately, it is not uncommon to see fighters hospitalized because they attempted to cut too much weight too late.
It has become a serious issue as fights are being cancelled or fighters are taking risks fighting a much bigger opponent who never had to go through a weight cut.
For some, it has become a form of cheating as some fighters can go into a fight knowing they are going to miss weight and hoping that their opponent will take the fight anyway.
It has been an issue and seems to only be getting worse as the months go on and more fighters miss weight.
Heading into UFC 228 weight cutting was a major story with fighters that have gained a reputation, whether warranted or not, for being too heavy.
In the co-main event, it was set to be the first title defence for the women’s flyweight division by Nicco Montaño.
She was going to take on Valentina Shevchenko in a fight that was extremely interesting with the champion as the underdog.
In the lead up to the fight though Shevchenko continued to claim that she wasn’t even sure that the fight was going to happen.
The challenger believed that Montaño was sure to miss weight and was never planning on actually fighting.
There was never really a reason for that belief as Montano had never really been seen in the UFC and went through The Ultimate Fighter house without having those issues.
Yet Shevchenko continued to talk about it and warned everyone that the fight was likely not going to happen.
She turned out to be right as Montaño could not make weight ending up in the hospital after struggling with her cut.
With that, the fight was off and the title became vacant as the UFC stripped Montaño of the belt after a long layoff and then her weight cut issues.
Shevchenko will fight for the belt at a later date against another opponent as her wait for a title continues.
In the main event, there was a little more history to bring some doubt about the potential fight.
Darren Till has always been one of the biggest fighters in the welterweight division and has played on that line of weight cutting for a while.
In his last fight, he lost that weight cut battle missing by four and a half pounds for his fight against Stephen Thompson.
That fight continued and he took the win in what was his top contender fight that was pretty controversial.
Leading up to the fight everyone asked Till about the weight cut and whether or not he would be ready to fight for the title.
The Englishman continued to claim that it was a mistake that will never happen again and that when he weighed in he would shut up all of the doubters.
That is what happened as Till weighed in on weight and kept that shot at the title alive, as well as a potentially great fight.
That potential for a great fight led to what most potentially great fights lead to, a fight where nobody wanted to take a big chance.
Tyron Woodley was the champion waiting for the challenger to come through and beat him not the other way around.
Not much happened until the second round when Woodley put Till down with a big punch and went to work.
Woodley began unloading on the challenger putting Till in some serious trouble but not enough to end the fight.
Then Woodley went to work on the ground and sunk in a D’Arce Choke that was in tight enough to force Till to tap.
The win ended the chance of a new era beginning in the division leading to two divisions without a new champion.
Till clearly wasn’t ready for the jump he made and could continue to fight in this division but might move up to avoid the weight cut.
Meanwhile, Woodley remains the champion and one of the best welterweights of all time roving again and again that he is more than deserving of the title.
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