Miesha Tate’s UFC 200 Blunder: Why are Weigh-ins done in the open despite fighters being uncomfortable

Weigh-ins serve as the most important part of any combat sport and not just in UFC. As weight discrepancy can seriously hamper the fight and tip scales in the favor of the bigger opponent. Majorly, this can be seen as the reason behind fighters’ weigh-ins in front of a crowd instead of it being an intimate affair.

Miesha Tate suffered the brunt of this practice at UFC’s 200th PPV as the former champion struggled to touch the bantamweight limit.

Are public weigh-ins helping UFC fighters to fight on equal grounds?

The open weigh-ins can make things quite uncomfortable, especially for women, as even a single piece of clothing can cause serious disruption. Not being able to make weight can produce serious repercussions, starting from loss of pay, and fighters being dubbed as unprofessional.

Read More: Dana White Gives a Tour of His Ultra-Luxurious Home on Fight Island

It still doesn’t hide the fact that sometimes, things can go wrong, as fighters usually do not compete at their natural weight. This practice exerts an excessive amount of stress on them and sometimes they have to take extreme measures to tip the scales in their favor. However, despite all these measures, fighters still manage to cheat their way through the system and gain an unfair advantage over their opponents.

According to a report by MMA fighting, CSAC (California State Athletic Commission) conducted a study about fighter’s weight and how a significant chunk is cheating the system. The study looked at 82 fighters of the roster, who competed during the time period of 2016-2017.

As per the report, nearly 30% of fighters on the roster were reportedly ballooning up beyond the 10% limit on fight day. This could seriously impact the fight’s trajectory and allot the fighter an undue advantage.

The UFC, icon Joe Rogan has advocated against this practice in his podcast, Joe Rogan Experience. The veteran UFC commentator suggested that weight cuts are unnecessary and fighters are already cheating the system. In their attempts to fight smaller opponents, fighters go through extreme measures to cut weight, only to turn up on the fight night with a significant weight advantage.

Watch This Story: Everything We Know So Far About Colby Covington-Jorge Masvidal Brawl in Miami

He called it sanctioned cheating as on the fight day, the weight cut becomes pointless. He also stated that rival promotion in One has figured out the right way to do weigh-ins, which allows fighters to compete closer to their natural weight. The promotion has enforced a rule, which prevents competitors from making extreme weight cuts while promoting fair play.

Should UFC also enforce a similar rule to prevent this problem?