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 select 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.
Diego Ferreira (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC)
Lightweight (155lbs): Missed weight 2x in UFC
Diego Ferreira has been in the UFC since 2014.
Ferreira missed weight for the first time in the UFC back in 2019. Ferreira came in at 157lbs for the bout and was able to win a unanimous decision against his opponent, Rustam Khabilov, the following day.
In Diego’s next scheduled fight, just three months later, he was slatted to take on Francisco Trinaldo. Unfortunately, Diego had to withdraw from the fight thanks to kidney stones during the official weigh in ceremony for the card. The Brazilian athletic commission deemed Diego medically unfit to compete in the bout, so as a result, it was cancelled.
Ahead of Diego Ferreira’s most recent fight, against Gregor Gillespie, he missed weight when he came in at 160.5lbs for the bout. Diego also lost to his opponent when he was finished in the 2nd round of the fight via ground and pound.
Ferreira is now 36 years old, and at 5’9″ with a 74″ reach it would be very difficult for him to move up in weight to the 170lbs division that is so heavily stacked.
Diego is definitely heavy for the weight class and recently suffered from an injury that made him pull out from his latest scheduled fight against Grant Dawson back in October.
Ferreira will be a fighter to watch on the scale and in the cage for UFC Vegas 45.
