UFC Announces it’s Keeping Early Weigh-ins For ‘TUF 27’ Finale and UFC 226
Last night, the UFC informed the fighters competing on next week's TUF Finale and 226 cards that they are sticking with the early weigh-ins ... for now. More on ESPN: https://t.co/i3pFqUtPq0
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 29, 2018
UFC 226 is now available on Amazon Prime.
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UFC Vice President Jeff Novitzky said that both events will employ the early weigh-ins, for the time being at least:
"We
appreciate the feedback we've received to date as we continue to
work with athletic commissions and federations to actively analyze
the issue and consider implementing new policies to further support
safe weight management practices. Going forward, UFC athletes and
support will be notified well in advance of any policy changes
surrounding weigh-in times and weight management policy."
The promotion began adopting the early weigh-ins for UFC 199 back in June 2016, allowing fighters the choice to weigh in between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. the day before the event in an effort to give fighters more time to rehydrate before fight night. Historically, the UFC has held weigh-ins in the afternoon.
While the early weigh-ins were created with good intentions, more fighters have missed weight since the morning weigh-ins were implemented. From June 2014 to May 2016, only 32 fighters missed weight over the course of 950 events. Conversely, 62 fighters have missed weight since the creation of the early weigh-ins over the course of 962 events, according to a report by MMA Junkie.
Those figures haven’t been lost on UFC President Dana White, who stated his intention to scrap the early weigh-ins during a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast:
"We're
getting rid of it. We're looking at taking the weigh-ins back to
the way they used to be. So when the guys weigh in there [in the
afternoon], that will be it. That'll be the real weigh-in."
UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway stressed the need for early weigh-ins during a conference call on Thursday, as even he was unsure as to whether or not UFC 226 would employ early weigh-ins or not:
“I don’t
even know… will there be early weigh-ins (for UFC 226)? They
shouldn’t take away morning weigh-ins for fighters who want to do
it. They should keep two weigh-ins, the morning one and the option
to do it in the afternoon.”
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