For a fighter, weight management is supposed to reflect discipline in a sport like martial arts. But a fighter on Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions inaugural card exceeded expectations in weight gain. On May 16, Namo Fazil, whom Dana White recently signed to UFC, reportedly entered fight night 27 pounds heavier than what he weighed during the early weigh-ins, sparking outrage across the MMA community.
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Prominent social media personnel, Jed I Goodman, released the fight night weights of several fighters who competed on the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano card, and the numbers showed a noticeable contrast. Yet, Namo Fazil stole the spotlight after coming in at 198 lbs during his welterweight fight with Jake Babian. The 29-year-old hit the scales at 170.8 lbs, making for a staggering 27.2-pound difference in just over 24 hours.
On the other hand, Fazil’s opponent, Jake Babian, made 170 lbs and came in at 185 lbs on fight night. In that case, both fighters had a considerable size difference, and that distinction showed when Fazil finished Babian with a rear-naked choke in the second round. Indeed, the former ONE Championship fighter’s weight gain surged leaps and bounds, but it is definitely not a totally surprising occurrence for fans.
When it comes to weight gain, the governing bodies explain no universal regulatory cap. Because of that, many fighters go through drastic cuts and then rehydrate themselves to gain a size advantage in fights. However, an alarming situation occurred when the California State Athletic Commission had to intervene after several fighters at UFC 298 gained too much weight.
The co-headliner, Paulo Costa, went from 185.5 lbs to 215.2 lbs for his middleweight bout against Robert Whittaker, which marked a massive 29.5-pound gap. According to an ESPN report, the California State Athletic Commission could cancel or force a fighter to move up a division if the weight difference exceeds 15%, yet they still allowed the bout to proceed.
Other fighters at the event, like Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, also maintained a healthy 15-20 percent gap on average compared to their weight limit.
First reported by MMA Fighting: #RouseyCarano Fight Night Weights Ronda Rousey: Weigh-in: 142 Fight Night: 143 Weight Gained: 1 Gina Carano: Weigh-in: 141.4 Fight Night: 152 Weight Gained: 10.6 Nate Diaz: Weigh-in: 168.6 Fight Night: 184.6 Weight Gained: 16 Mike Perry: Show more
Now, even with the controversy attached, Namo Fazil is set to compete in Dana White’s Contender Series during the promotion’s newest season, starting August 12. But before he made that shift, fans heavily criticized Fazil for gaining such a copious amount of weight.
Fans blast Namo Fazil for 27-pound weight gain at Jake Paul’s event
A fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “Fazil gaining 2 stone overnight is frankly outrageous 😄. It’s barbaric the sh-t their bodies go through, even before a punch is thrown. Savage 👀.” Noting the 27-pound gain, another user called for a major change in how weight cutting is handled, proposing, “Fazil 27 pound gain is wild! There should be a second official weigh-in on the day of the fight with a 5% weight gain tolerance at most.”
As revealed above, the California State Athletic Commission has a 15% limit for fighters in terms of weight gain, though it appears to be a fluid condition. Beyond that, ONE Championship also has a strict rehydration policy that prevents fighters from cutting massive amounts of weight. However, ONE’s rule does not stop fighters from gaining weight between weigh-ins and fight night.
In that case, it remains unclear whether promotions will put stricter caps in place in the near future. But one fan pointed out the irony behind weight-cutting rules, writing, “lol they introduce weight cutting in an attempt to make things more fair, and then we get guys still cutting 30 pounds.”
Well, personalities like Joe Rogan have long criticized fighters for cutting copious amounts of weight to gain an advantage and have even called for the practice to be abolished entirely. Still, stories of fighters going through extreme measures to make weight continue to unfold to this day, the latest being Khamzat Chimaev before UFC 328 against Sean Strickland.
After that, another fan commented, “Fazil is a massive welterweight,” which definitely appears true, and he could arguably be a solid middleweight as well based on his 198-pound fight night weight. Last but not least, another user pointed out, “Not one competitive fight on the whole card.” The fan did not directly imply that the weight difference caused the fights to become uncompetitive on Jake Paul’s card, and Daniel Cormier also raised similar concerns.
With the unified MMA rules and athletic commissions not putting a strict cap on fight night weight gain, fighters continue to have an open window to rely on drastic weight-altering methods. Still, it will be interesting to see whether governing bodies introduce changes in the future.
