UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson II (4/8/2017) - Buffalo, NY (KeyBank Center)

[TheVileOne]

I think Rumble was tipping over as the favorite before weigh-ins.  

[OSJ]

AJ just doesn't have the mental game to be an elite fighter. Throwing out his corner's advice and trying to wrestle Cormier was all kinds of stupid, what the hell was he thinking?

[J.T.]

Rumble's career has always been plagued with moments of foolish pride.

He wouldn't have had so many issues with stamina in the past if he'd just have accepted the fact that he was a true light heavyweight. 

He destroyed himself trying to cut for those Middleweight and those sub 200 lb Catchweight fights, but he was determined to prove that 185 was his fighting weight..

He went on a nine fight win streak after he debuted at LHW. Go figure.

This time he was determined to beat DC at his own game and forgot to use the tools that got him this far aka that brutal KO power he has.

[OSJ]

I really don't understand the thinking of these guys that cut ridiculous amounts of weight to fight in lower divisions, the stress has to be bloody awful and as we've seen over and over again, the payoff often isn't there.

[Casey]

To be honest I don't understand weight cutting at all. Why not just fight at your natural weight?

[Craig H]

5 hours ago, J.T. said:

Rumble's career has always been plagued with moments of foolish pride.

He wouldn't have had so many issues with stamina in the past if he'd just have accepted the fact that he was a true light heavyweight. 

He destroyed himself trying to cut for those Middleweight and those sub 200 lb Catchweight fights, but he was determined to prove that 185 was his fighting weight..

He went on a nine fight win streak after he debuted at LHW. Go figure.

This time he was determined to beat DC at his own game and forgot to use the tools that got him this far aka that brutal KO power he has.

Not 185. It was 170.

[supremebve]

3 hours ago, Casey said:

To be honest I don't understand weight cutting at all. Why not just fight at your natural weight?

You want to fight at the size that you are you are the strongest, and odds are your natural weight isn't exactly 205, 185, 170 or whatever the arbitrary limit is.  Therefore you cut to fight at the weight division beneath your natural weight. Other reasons to cut weight are that you are too short or small for a division.  I started grappling again a little less than a month ago and was told that there is a tournament coming up on the 22nd.  I've been out of the loop for over a decade, so my technique is sloppier than I would like.  I'm currently around 205 lbs., but I'm also 5'7".  I'm able to compete with guys at my level if I have a strength advantage.  If I compete with someone who has been training hard for the last year or two I'm not going to be able to out-technique them.  At 205 I'm pretty strong, but at 185 I'm a fucking monster.  If I was to try to compete at 205 against guys who are cutting down from 220 or so, I'm most likely going to be fighting against someone taller, heavier, stronger, and more technical than I am.  If I compete at 185, the height difference will be less, I'll probably be stronger, and heavier, and I can use my physical advantages to overcome their technical advantages.  

[TheVileOne]

4 hours ago, Casey said:

To be honest I don't understand weight cutting at all. Why not just fight at your natural weight?

The general logic is fighters want to be the biggest and strongest guy at their weight.  Now is that a little flawed considering how fighters damage themselves to make weight?  Yes. 

[Ramo2653]

I always thought it was due to the prominence of wrestlers in MMA which leads into @supremebve answer. You're gambling that you can cut weight and then hydrate and recover enough by the next day that it'll work out.

 

When you're trading on your body to make a living, any advantage helps.