Mass Approves Double Weigh-ins, Could Change
Jack Encarnacao Mar 10, 2010
The newly formed Massachusetts State Athletic Commission has
approved placeholder regulations that limit the number of pounds a
fighter can gain between a pre-fight weigh-in and fight night.
Officials stressed the provision, taken from the state’s boxing regulations, could easily change after a forthcoming public hearing and input from medical specialists.
The commission took an “emergency vote” Wednesday to approve the
regulations because it had no rules on the books governing mixed
martial arts even though the commission went into effect last week.
The state approved regulating the sport in December, but the
commission was not activated until March 1. Because the regulations
were approved under an emergency vote, they will expire in 90 days.
At that point, permanent, likely reworked regulations will be voted
on.
The Massachusetts “double weigh-in” provision calls for a fighter to be weighed in no more than 36 hours before his fight and again on the night of the fight. The fighter cannot weigh more than 1.0625 times his initial weight on the second weigh-in.
According to the regulation, fighters who don’t make weight “shall … forfeit the fight and be subject to further penalties and sanctions, including, but not limited to, forfeiture of their purse, a fine, suspension and/or revocation of their license.”
The regulation also gives the commission discretion to give a fighter who comes in heavy the chance to lose no more than one percent of his weight. It does not specify how soon before a fight the second weigh-in takes place.
The provision concerns fighters because it puts a crimp in the industry practice of cutting down to the lowest possible weight on the eve of a fight and then aggressively rehydrating, often well past the contracted weight limit, to gain a size advantage. Most states only check a fighter’s weight once.
The Massachusetts provision is designed to control unhealthy fluctuations in weight. Fighters worry it won’t give them enough time to properly rehydrate and instead will encourage fighters freshly exhausted from cutting weight to get into the ring. Others worry it could be a big disadvantage for fighters who move up to bigger MMA promotions, where weight-cutting is an art in and of itself and a key part of succeeding.
Todd Grossman, who serves as legal counsel to the Massachusetts commission and is also a member, said the weigh-in rule was adopted for MMA because commissioners wanted to err on the side of caution before seeking out public and medical comments for the permanent regulations.
“Not every rule is going to be perfect right out of the gate,” he said. “It seems to me, if I’m going to make a mistake, I want to err on the side of doing it safely, even if the first couple of shows have this rule in place and we take it out in the future.”
The first MMA event in Massachusetts with commission sanctioning is expected to take place March 26. The UFC is negotiating a deal with The TD Garden in Boston to stage its first Massachusetts event on Aug. 28.
Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said he will soon meet with the Massachusetts commission to discuss the weigh-in issue.
“We’re meeting with them and getting it all fleshed out,” he said.
While it’s clear the UFC and its fighters would prefer the typical single weigh-in, Ratner said a double weigh-in wouldn’t necessarily deter the company from coming to Massachusetts. A similar provision exists in North Carolina, where fighters cannot gain more than 13 pounds between weigh-ins. Ratner noted that the UFC will abide by double weigh-ins when it visits North Carolina for UFC Fight Night 21 on March 31 in Charlotte, as it did for its “Fight for the Troops” card in December 2008 in Fayetteville, N.C., where all fighters made weight.
Officials stressed the provision, taken from the state’s boxing regulations, could easily change after a forthcoming public hearing and input from medical specialists.
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The Massachusetts “double weigh-in” provision calls for a fighter to be weighed in no more than 36 hours before his fight and again on the night of the fight. The fighter cannot weigh more than 1.0625 times his initial weight on the second weigh-in.
The formula means the higher the weight, the higher the allowable
weight gain. For example, a fighter contracted to fight at 135
pounds can’t come in higher than 143.4375 pounds on fight night,
170 pounders cannot exceed 180.625, 205 pounders cannot exceed
217.8125 pounds, etc.
According to the regulation, fighters who don’t make weight “shall … forfeit the fight and be subject to further penalties and sanctions, including, but not limited to, forfeiture of their purse, a fine, suspension and/or revocation of their license.”
The regulation also gives the commission discretion to give a fighter who comes in heavy the chance to lose no more than one percent of his weight. It does not specify how soon before a fight the second weigh-in takes place.
The provision concerns fighters because it puts a crimp in the industry practice of cutting down to the lowest possible weight on the eve of a fight and then aggressively rehydrating, often well past the contracted weight limit, to gain a size advantage. Most states only check a fighter’s weight once.
The Massachusetts provision is designed to control unhealthy fluctuations in weight. Fighters worry it won’t give them enough time to properly rehydrate and instead will encourage fighters freshly exhausted from cutting weight to get into the ring. Others worry it could be a big disadvantage for fighters who move up to bigger MMA promotions, where weight-cutting is an art in and of itself and a key part of succeeding.
Todd Grossman, who serves as legal counsel to the Massachusetts commission and is also a member, said the weigh-in rule was adopted for MMA because commissioners wanted to err on the side of caution before seeking out public and medical comments for the permanent regulations.
“Not every rule is going to be perfect right out of the gate,” he said. “It seems to me, if I’m going to make a mistake, I want to err on the side of doing it safely, even if the first couple of shows have this rule in place and we take it out in the future.”
The first MMA event in Massachusetts with commission sanctioning is expected to take place March 26. The UFC is negotiating a deal with The TD Garden in Boston to stage its first Massachusetts event on Aug. 28.
Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said he will soon meet with the Massachusetts commission to discuss the weigh-in issue.
“We’re meeting with them and getting it all fleshed out,” he said.
While it’s clear the UFC and its fighters would prefer the typical single weigh-in, Ratner said a double weigh-in wouldn’t necessarily deter the company from coming to Massachusetts. A similar provision exists in North Carolina, where fighters cannot gain more than 13 pounds between weigh-ins. Ratner noted that the UFC will abide by double weigh-ins when it visits North Carolina for UFC Fight Night 21 on March 31 in Charlotte, as it did for its “Fight for the Troops” card in December 2008 in Fayetteville, N.C., where all fighters made weight.
