UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano might be in the books, but we’re far from done with breaking down what was a fabulous night of MMA action out in Los Angeles.
One of the most interesting pieces of post-PPV news comes from the California State Athletic Commission, who have revealed how much weight each fighter gained between the official weigh-ins on Friday, and Fight Night on Saturday.
As the global MMA community ponder the sizable discrepancies, fan favorite featherweight Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen offers an explanation as to how weight can change so dramatically in those 24 hours.
CSAC reveals Fight Night weights for UFC 311 main card superstars
The California State Athletic Commission has disclosed the Fight Night weights for each of the athletes who competed at UFC 311 this past weekend, with certain fighters piling on the pounds in those final 24 hours far more than others.
In the main event, Islam Makhachev gained 23.5lbs; taking him up to 178lbs by the time he entered the arena, whilst Renato Moicano gained 26.8lbs, meaning that ‘Money’ was around 181.8lbs come Fight Night.
Merab Dvalishvili gained 22.8lbs, a whopping 17% of his total weight, with Umar Nurmagomedov adding 21.8lbs – both bantamweights entered their title showdown around 156lbs.
Jiri Prochazka added less than 4lbs of weight between Friday and Saturday, prompting fans to revisit the question as to whether he could potentially make a move down to middleweight.
The biggest ‘weight bully’ on the card was Reinier de Ridder, who gained an enormous 27.5lbs before entering the cage against Kevin Holland, who himself only added around 7lbs.
Arnold Allen explains how fighters gain as much as 28lbs after weighing in
Popular featherweight contender Arnold Allen was quick to respond to the weight discrepancies thread on X, with ‘Almighty’ offering an explanation as to how fighters gain so many pounds in such a short span of time.
“Never fought in California so not sure if you have to strip down or not but I’ve done these day of weigh ins with shoes and a tracksuit on, can be misleading if one guy takes clothes off and someone else doesn’t.”
Arnold later clarified that the calculated weight on Fight Night could also include the gloves that fighters were wearing, which add either 8oz or 10oz depending on which sizes were used.
“Also says they’re fighting in 8 or 10 oz gloves in the check list, I believe the X means they don’t have that usually when you arrive at the arena, you’ll do a weight check then go to warm up, I’d imagine it’s the same.”
Arnold’s explanation was given the green light by veteran reporter Aaron Bronsteter, who stated that “athletes are either in their street clothes or fight kit without shoes when they are weighed and that they weigh in shortly after their arrival at the venue.”