Gunnar Nelson is a stoic figure who generally keeps to himself, but when it comes to cutting weight and the damage and danger it can cause to fighters, he’s got something to say.
“I don’t like this whole weight cutting thing. I don’t like the idea. I think they should slowly get rid of it, or just quickly. I think it’s a bunch of bollocks.” – Nelson
“Why do two men the same size cut up to 15 kilos, weigh in the day before and then walk in the ring and put on 10 or 12 kilos the next day? Why is this happening? It makes absolutely no sense,” Nelson told FOX Sports.
“Almost everyone cuts a huge amount of weight just for people to kill themselves for a few kilos. It’s nonsense; let’s face it.”
The thing is, as long as anyone’s doing it, then everyone is going to want to do it, because it’s an advantage.
For most fighters, at least. There are some fighters, like Frankie Edgar, who barely cut weight, if any at all. The same goes for Conor’s foray into 170. Some guys think they’re better off being able to eat whatever they want and not put so much stress on their bodies, and those guys are playing it smart.
“I haven’t heard too much about it as far as details, but I’d be behind that 100 percent,” Nelson said about California’s new weight cutting rules. “I think it definitely affects guys long term if you’re doing it often. We’ve seen guys have been driven to the hospital, guys fainted and stuff like that. It’s taken a few fights off cards just on the day of the weigh-ins because somebody’s collapsing. It’s pretty obvious that it isn’t good. I think they should try to figure out ways to get rid of it.
“Most people would agree with me if everybody would just go in there, fight their own weight. It wouldn’t really be a problem.”
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