Like it or not, weight-cutting is deeply rooted in mixed martial arts. MMA adopted its weight-cutting from the sport of wrestling, where it is presumed to be very advantageous to be the biggest and strongest in your weight class. Known as the ‘fight before the fight,’ most UFC fighters cut anywhere from 5-25 pounds, with some fighters even in excess of 30 pounds.
Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (24-8-1 MMA, 18-8-1 UFC)
Bantamweight (135lbs): 1-1 (UFC)
Featherweight (145lbs): 8-5 (UFC), UFC Featherweight Title Challenger
Lightweight (155lbs): 9-3-1 (UFC), Former UFC Lightweight Champion
Frankie Edgar is a long time competitor in the UFC and now a staple of Weight Cutting Chronicles.
At 5’6″ tall with just a 66″ reach Edgar had an amazing run at lightweight and was able to capture the belt back in 2010.
Edgar moved down to the featherweight division in 2013 when the sport of MMA began to evolve even more and fighters began to cut more weight. Interestingly enough, once Edgar began to cut a little more weight, he was stopped for the first time in his career back in 2018.
Edgar was able to make it to the highest level at 145lbs and challenged Max Holloway for the belt, though he was unsuccessful. After being finished once again at featherweight, Edgar shocked fans again, and moved down to the bantamweight division.
Edgar seemingly defied all the odds, and had an amazing debut at 135lbs last August in a five round war with Pedro Munhoz. Edgar looked great on the scale and in the octagon had great cardio and was able to take hard shots with no issue.
In Edgar’s most recent fight, he was KO’d in the first round against Cory Sandhagen by a jumping knee. It was a shot that would have KO’d anyone and you’d be hard pressed to make the case that Edgar wasn’t able to take the shot because of an excessive weight cut. It’s also a loss that has aged well since Cory went on to give Interim UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan a very tough fight.
At 40 years of age Edgar is continuing to impress and dominate across three different weight classes, truly proving that he was fighting guys way bigger than himself for nearly the entirety of his career.
