More incentives to make weight?

[sol_dave]

I think you've got to strike a balance between incentivising guys to make weight and looking after fighter safety. A fighter has missed weight - that's (99% of the time) his/her fault. What you don't want is situations whereby guys are pushing themselves beyond safe limits because the penalties for missing weight are so severe.

So how do you deal with it? Cage Warriors policy of 25%-40% purse deductions given to the opponent works - only a handful of fighters have had the 40% penalty as far as I know.

But how do you deal with missing weight beyond that? If a fighter misses weight, it's always down to the opponent to take the fight. I can't ever remember a fighter turning down an overweight opponent. I guess the pressure is on the guy who made weight to take the fight for the sake of the promoter/fans/not wasting his camp. That's not entirely fair, so I like the idea of a pre-fight point reduction for a big miss. I'd want to see that put in the Unified Rules before promotions start using it willy nilly.

I remember a few years ago Brad Pickett turned down a fight with Simon Boulter at fx3 here is a piece around the time

Catching up with Brad Pickett revealed his side of the story and it isn’t the issue of letting the fight go ahead with 0.4kg being given away, it’s a respect issue. “It’s not the weight that bothers me, I have fought guys who are 10 kilos heavier than me before, it’s the way that it was done that irked me. We had 45 minutes before the cut off point and he basically turned around and said he was done, he basically said I cant go back in the sauna, sat down and popped his drink down his throat without even asking me about it, that made my blood boil” explained Pickett before adding “We all sat down outside trying to resolve it, corner-man, promoters and us, but when he popped that drink I just thought, is this for f***ing real? He didn’t consult me or try to cut right up to the line, he just sat back and slugged his drink, I was so f***ing angry, and I cant fight with my head in that frame of mind, I wont fight the fight I need to”

So was the split of Boulter’s purse not an incentive to accept the bout? You could possibly look at his team-mate at ATT - Thaigo Alves for reference as this is exactly what happened to him with Matt Hughes… “Its all very well and good to say Hughes got 30% of his purse, but 30% of UFC wages is a lot better than 50% of what he (Boulter) was getting paid here, but again, its not a financial issue, it’s a professionalism issue, I would have walked him back to the sauna myself if he wanted it that bad, it just got me into a frenzy seeing him pop his drink without consultation first” ranted Pickett, clearly still angry at how things have transpired “I have seen people crawl out of a sauna to make weight before” he concluded.

[Xanthic]

I think for fighters who continuously fail to make weight i.e. Enty - if the opponent decides not to fight them, their purse should go to the opponent and it should be marked as a loss against the other's record.

Enty (and I'm sure there are others) relies on the "oh they turned up to fight so they'll fight anyway otherwise they'll look like a pussy" or the "you travelled all this way to fight...".

Fighters shouldn't be afraid to just say no. If the person isn't professional enough to make weight on a 5 - 8 week notice fight, they shouldn't fight or get paid.

[brashleyholland]

I remember a few years ago Brad Pickett turned down a fight with Simon Boulter at fx3 here is a piece around the time

This is a good point too - there's a difference between a guy who pushes to the wire to make the weight, misses, then goes away and pushes again for the one or two hours he's allocated, and a guy who is over 2 hours before the weigh-ins and says 'fuck it' and chugs a Gatorade.

[Evzy]

Wasn't there someone in the UFC who missed weight a few months ago then the opponent refused to take the fight?

Or am I just thinking of an Enty fight happening the same weekend as a UFC card?

[markjitsu]

The financial penalties in place with cw for instance are good.
BUT, fighter pay in mma is still generally so low, that for some losing a hundred quid or so might be more attractive than sitting in the sauna for another 45 mins?

[thaison]

There shouldn't need to be an incentive, if you accept a bout at an agreed weight, be professional enough to be on that weight for the time it takes you to jump on a set of scales.

The thought of losing a % of my purse doesnt bother me as much as the thought of my and my teams repuatation getting tarnished cause we cant do what we agree to do on signing a contract.

[markjitsu]

^^^ totally agree - it's a shame other "pros" don't have this attitude

[HomerPlata]

Hmm I still owe you a nut shot don't I!!

Also, the danger being some fighters may deliberately fail to make weight....

Hahaha, with a facial expression like Louis Spence off that advert, "Whoopsie! I missed weight by fourteen pounds...".

Yes mate, I cannot lie, you did win a kick to my bollocks fair and square - for the correct picking of Enty over Bowman. One day my debt will be settled.

Let me father a child first.

[Evzy]

I still feel dirty over that call, though I did state Enty first 2 minutes only.... Damn, though kicking you in the balls I am sure will help me feel clean again.

Are we sure we want to let you breed?

[bryanmc]

There shouldn't need to be an incentive, if you accept a bout at an agreed weight, be professional enough to be on that weight for the time it takes you to jump on a set of scales.

The thought of losing a % of my purse doesnt bother me as much as the thought of my and my teams repuatation getting tarnished cause we cant do what we agree to do on signing a contract.

absolute spot on