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Combat sports are a game of weight classes. They are the real-life interpretation of the ‘pick on someone your own size’ school of thought.
During the pre-fight introductions, the announcer will reveal a fighter’s official weight – the weight that the scales showed at the weigh-ins 24 hours prior.
The truth is that come fight time, fighters are often a lot heavier than advertised. Like any professional athlete, fighters will seek to gain any advantage they can. In the sport of knockouts and tap outs, this can mean draining one’s body to fight at the lowest weight class possible.
Strict dieting, water restriction and sauna sessions are just some of the gruelling methods that fighters will go through to make weight.
One combatant who has endured this struggle repeatedly is the UFC’s Robert Whittaker. Previously a welterweight, the Sydney-based fighter is set to make his middleweight debut on home soil November 8 at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold versus Bisping.
“I was doing big [weight] cuts for a long time, probably for the last couple of years” Whittaker explained. “It just got to the point where it was really starting to hurt me. I had to look at the longevity of my career; I’m still young and I have a long time in this sport if I play it right.”
“To be losing that amount of weight through water was just taking its toll on my organs and what not.”
With just a few weeks to go until his fight at the Allphones Arena, Whittaker is settling into his new weight class comfortably.
“[Training has been going] really well.” he said “I think this is one of the most relaxed camps I’ve ever had solely on the fact that I’m not freaking out about my weight the whole time.”
“I’ve always been a fairly big kid and I love my food as well. Making the move to middleweight is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made.”
Whittaker’s last fight, a decision win over Mike Rhodes in Auckland, ended a two-fight losing streak for the 23 year-old.
“Coming off back to back losses is tough for any fighter to try to complete clear out of their head,” he said “It’s a cut-throat sort of sport where you need to get the W to [stay employed]. It’s hard not to play it in your mind, the thought of feeding your family.”
With a win firmly in place, Whittaker is now looking ahead to his looming match-up with Clint Hester.
“He’s a great fighter.” he offered “I have lot of respect for his striking and everything about him. I’m looking forward to it, should be a really good showdown.”
To accommodate for the middleweight move, some adjustments in training have been made.
“As soon as I decided to make the move up to middleweight it was pretty much just mass gaining and putting on muscle so I wouldn’t get out-muscled in the division,” Whittaker said
“I work on everything in combination. The day that I focus too much one thing, I’ll get beaten in another. So I try to cover all bases and get better at everything.”
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