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UFC fighters have become notorious for often embarking on debilitating weight cuts for fights. Heading into ONE Championship 35, Yang Jian Bing passed away due to complications from his attempt to make the flyweight limit. In response, ONE Championship placed a ban on dehydrating weight cuts and forced fighters to weigh-in daily during training camps.
All of this was done in an attempt to ensure fighters are competing at their walk around weights. UFC post-fight interviewer and comedian Joe Rogan has cited the ONE Championship formula as something the UFC should adopt in the past.
Currently, a variety of fighters across multiple divisions in the UFC come in looking gaunt and worse for wear at weigh-ins. In the time between their exhausting weigh-in and their fight, they will rehydrate and often be much larger than their official weight suggests.
The following five active UFC fighters all carry considerably more walk around weight on their frames than one might first expect:
#5. Current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman
The unstoppable UFC welterweight champion carries an immense amount of muscle on his frame for a 170 pounder. When he’s not having to cut down for weigh-ins, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is typically well past the 190lbs mark.
The uphill battle to slim down for the division he rules over was even brought up by Joe Rogan. The UFC commentator used Usman as a key example of his more recent weight-cutting criticisms.
Heading into his UFC 258 title bout with Gilbert Burns, Usman initially weighed in at 170.5lbs on the scale. In order to tow the division line, the former NCAA warrior had to remove his facemask.
While he applies a slightly more holistic approach to his training these days, the jacked Usman is insanely strong for a welterweight. At his collegiate peak in the weights room, the heavy hitter could bench press over 360lbs and squat over 500lbs.
Provided he gets past Colby Covington at UFC 268 in November, don’t be surprised if Usman takes a crack at middleweight in 2022. Usman vs. Adesanya would be a big money fight to say the least. Furthermore, Usman has both the size to easily move up a weight class and the skill to become a double-champ a la Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier.
#4. Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw
Recently returned UFC fighter TJ Dillashaw always looks rather lean at 135lbs to say the least. It came as a shock to many when he announced he was going to lean out even further to fight at flyweight.
When he’s not having to fuss about making weight, TJ Dillashaw typically weighs around 155lbs. His drastic weight cut to become a flyweight remains one of the most alarming in UFC history. Debilitatingly dehydrated, a gaunt Dillashaw arrived on the scale ahead of his January 2019 flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo.
Despite his relative dominance as a bantamweight, Dillashaw ate a dispiritingly lopsided defeat. Cejudo made short work of the then-bantamweight champion, punching his way to a first-round TKO win at just 32 seconds.
Dillashaw’s life-endangering dreams of becoming a two-division kingpin were scattered. Sadly for ‘Snake’, the misfortune didn’t end there. He was later busted for EPO and received a whopping two-year suspension.
His return this year saw him back at bantamweight where the weight cuts, while grueling, are slightly more manageable for the almost 160 pounder.
#3. Former UFC featherweight champion José Aldo
The UFC’s former long term featherweight kingpin turned some heads when he announced his move to bantamweight. At featherweight, Aldo would often look drained at the weigh-ins. At one point, many expected ‘Junior’ to eventually move up to lightweight.
Aldo had clearly been in a bad way more than once at weigh-ins for his featherweight fights. The general consensus was his body would struggle more and more as he got older.
The Brazilian striker typically walks around at about 170lbs making him incredibly large for his division. When he revealed plans to drop down another weight class, many expected the worst for his health.
At UFC 245, Aldo made his bantamweight debut, a split-decision loss to Marlon Moraes. Despite putting in a competitive performance, the main takeaway was how alarmingly gaunt and sickly Aldo looked at the weigh-ins.
Aldo has since claimed that cutting all the way down to 135lbs is easier than dropping to 145lbs. He’s credited his changes in diet and workout regimen for his newer, lighter lease on fighting. After a TKO loss to Petr Yan at UFC 251, Aldo has turned it around at bantamweight and won his most recent two fights.
#2. UFC heavyweight fighter Derrick Lewis
‘The Black Beast’ is a powerful UFC heavyweight with a strong, big-boned frame. While that assists his hard-hitting style in the octagon, it can make life difficult in regards to making weight. While fighters struggling to get below 265lbs isn’t all that common (unless you’re Greg Hardy), monsters like Lewis often have to drop as much as 40lbs.
The one-punch KO artist often flip-flops between 295-300lbs in his day-to-day life. In the lead-up to UFC 244, Lewis worked hard to drop from 295lbs all the way to 255lbs. Lewis threw down with Blagoy Ivanov at the event and won via split decision.
All of that fat-burning cardio appeared to do the trick as Lewis avoided getting gassed throughout. As big and strong as Lewis is, such drastic weight cuts will likely prove his undoing as he gets older. Most recently, the man with the most eccentric wrestling defense in the sport came undone against undefeated UFC heavyweight star Ciryl Gane.
Despite his raw explosiveness, Lewis was outmatched by the leaner, quicker ‘Bon Gamin’. It’s safe to say Gane did not have to drastically alter his walk around weight to the same extent, ensuring better health and energy come bell time.
#1. UFC middleweight fighter Darren Till
This English Muay Thai warrior weighs as much as 210-220lbs in his day-to-day life. Upon reading that, one might assume he typically fights in the UFC light heavyweight division. Nope. Darren Till is currently a middleweight but, until 2019, fought at welterweight for several years.
In order to make the cut in the 170lbs division, Darren Till had to go on drastic weight cuts even Christian Bale would gawk at. Between starving himself and spending way too much time in steam rooms, Till would essentially turn himself into the human equivalent of a raisin.
Unsurprisingly, such extreme bodily punishment took its toll on Till. After back-to-back losses against Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, Till finally did his body a favor and moved up to middleweight.
Despite the size difference, ‘The Gorilla’ is still pushing his body beyond its healthy limits. At 185lbs, he still has to burn off a good 20-30lbs for his fights. One of the biggest risks is the potential performance inhibitions caused by such extreme dehydration and malnourishment.
Till has a 50/50 record since returning to middleweight. He scored a split decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 and a unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker in July 2020. Most worrying of all is that both he and his coaches have implied his walk around weight is going to keep rising.
Having missed weight twice in the past, perhaps Till will have to commit to fighting at his actual size in the future.
