When did doctors become experts at cutting weight? 

I always get the impression that when the camera goes off and the mic gets cut, Chael continues to pontificate like this on his own for the rest of the day without an audience.

No, doctors aren't experts in weight cutting. They are however experts in the possibility and effects of short and long-term health complications caused by the sudden and drastic impact on the body and brains ability to handle extreme fluid loss in a very short amount of time. An Oncologist isn't required to have cancer his or herself to be able to see, diagnose and make reasonable predictions and precautions based on what they see in a cancer sufferer. I honestly can't work out if this a troll or not.

The ONE FC is the right way to do it. Just test the body's hydration level and not let people cut. Everyone went up a weight class. Chael is right, wrestling, they solved this decades ago.

Doctors are not experts at cutting weight. They are EXPERTS in maintaining health and preventing/treating complications. Even most nurses and medical students have seen and managed (or at least watched) many cases of severe dehydration, hypotension (low blood pressure), tachycardia (fast heart) and other conditions like sepsis or emergencies which have very similar signs/symptoms with extreme weight cutting complications. They know (or at least they should) know when and how to intervene to maintain homeostasis and organ perfusion. The flip side of the situation is that the doctor does not intervene, Yoel is rushed to the ED with severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances and has organ damage (eg kidneys/brain) or worse suffers and arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) and dies. Then what??? The doctor is there for a reason. Let him do his job, the doctor does not care how many extra hours the commission gives for a fighter to cut weight. If the doctor is concerned then thats it.. Times over

As someone who has been a ringside doctor are UFC event who has cut weight myself with world champion fighters I agree with Chsely 100 percent on this.

Chael is right once again. Doctors know a lot when they are playing in their own field. But when it comes to losing fat, gaining muscle, or ridding yourself of water, no! Ask a pro bodybuilder for those topics. They do it for a living.

Who needs a doctor when youre the real American gangster!

Chael "I offer to you" Sonnen

Bro Science > Science

NCAA also does hydration testing. That's a key element that you're missing.

Same day weigh in makes 100% sense

Here's the solution: Have a weigh in AND a weigh out. Problem solved! No more of this, "I fight at 155 but re-hydrate to 190" BS. You weigh in for your weight class the day before the fight, then you weigh out immediately after your fight. If you weigh 5 pounds over your weight class after the fight, then that's also considered missing weight and a DQ.

a doc doesn't have to go through a heart operation to perform a heart operation :/

CHAEL QUICK VIDEO IDEA: Reach in MMA is flawed. Measuring from fingertip-to-fingertip doesn't accurately describe one's reach because people have different body types. Two people may have the same span from fingertip-to-fingertip but one person might have a wider body frame and shorter arms.

Chael can't WAIT to pick literally anything apart even if he's not 100% on the money

I'm pretty sure the doctors the UFC employ will have knowledge of how bad dehydrating your body so much can cause

I wrestled in college. I was in NAIA, but it was the same weigh in procedures as NCAA. There is A LOT of weight cutting. If it is an open tournament, you can wrestle in a higher weight class if you miss weight. Chael is not being completely honest or things were different when he competed, or he has brain damage. But what do I know? This man has never lost a single second of a single round of a single fight. He knows it all!!!

There should be a weight check when a deal is signed and weight checks throughout a training camp and a day of weigh in and a reasonable variation allowed. It would force people to fight at their walk around weight. I'm personally tired of every other card being ruined by a bad cut being pulled off the card.

Ben askrin gave a perfect way to regulate weight cut. Not allow dehydration by testing the amount of water in your urine right before weigh ins

drs see ppl dehydrated all the time and spend 8 years in school learning about the biology of the body ie why it needs water, what happens if it doesn't get water, etc. much more expertise than fixing a broken bone...also many drs served overseas, played sports, etc. it's not like there's one single path to be a Dr. you're allowed to participate in other things than just school and med lab so it's very likely that SOME drs can be pretty insightful on this topic. love ya Chael but c'mon man

This scenario could be used in so many other ways when talking to “health professionals”. The people who have unwavering faith in a doctor are spasticated. Ask 5 different doctors the same question you’re going to get different answers

I totally get his point, and I agree about the weigh-in. However, presuming they are limited in expertise simply because they have never de-hydrated is ridiculous. Most lower-leg surgeons have never had a tib-fib fracture, but they do know about the negative effects of it and they even know how to fix it.

He actually makes a really good point.

chael has the best point and that is to eliminate weight cutting, and to weigh them in one hour prior to the fight...he's right this is six minute abs all over again

Cutting weight might only be a US phenomenon in MMA, but in boxing its practised all over the world. It is a stupid and dangerous practise when done aggressively, and physicians absolutely need to regulate it. If not them then who?

One rule that I’ve opened my eyes on are leg kicks. I never want to see a leg kick. When I want to see a leg kick, it’s in the same vein, the same level, as seeing soccer kicks to a grounded opponent. It’s just anti-entertainment, unlike soccer kicks.

John Peretti decided there were going to be gloves and weightclasses not some commission. Extreme fighting was a weightclass event from the very beginning and they also introduced the gloves to it.

Originally, I thought he was having a go a doctors stopping weigh cuts but after watching the vid I realized that Chael's point is that it makes more sense to stop weight cutting as a practice rather than regulate it. And he's right. Doctors aren't authorities on weight cutting and they aren't supposed to be. Medically, the only safe option is to have no weight cutting at all. It would be better for the fans and the fighters to not have it anymore. Less cancelled fights and less size disparity between fighters. Nobody cares who the near-suicide-through-dehydration champion of the world is.

This is chaels best and most unjustified rant ever

sure lets ignore doctors and take the word of a brain damaged fighter lol.

As a wrestler what Chael is saying is true. Same day weigh ins eliminates harsh weight cuts. If they do a harsh weight cut then the oerformance will not be good simple as that.

Chael brings up good points and has a right to be in this conversation as he is a living breathing example of all this shit and has done it for years

Great logic: a doctor never falls ill with cancer so he has no experience with it.

Just as Max is being rightfully pulled out form Ortega fight because of a stroke/concussion, Chael releases this... :) Ahhh, he really is a special type of an analyst :)

This man loves to hear himself speak.

I think it’s pretty easy to define an excessive weight cut Dan Cormier Max Holloway Conor McGregor an in-excessive weight cut Frankie Edgar Demetrious Johnson TJ Dillashaw

Wow, i was going into this thinking I was going to disagree but i just cant. Chael hit it on the head.

Chael, the fact that a bunch of people in the sport cut tons of weight in a reckless way doesn't mean: a) that it's healthy b) you should just give carte blanche to fighters to do whatever with themselves because they've "been there, seen it" and there's a lot of money at stake It's unhealthy, period. And it's 100% justified when a doc stops it. Keep in mind people died in this sport.

As soon as they graduated lol.

It's all about liability and lawsuits.

Brendan Schaub dressed up like a car salesman for his 4th of July podcast. I think that if you're Chael, however, then everyday is your own personal 4th of July!

I say instead of changing the weight cutting process change the punishments for missing weight. For example, miss weight once 50 percent of your purse, a second time forced to move weight division and fined 50 percent of your purse

as a former wrestler and the fact I'm going to be a doctor, I feel like I'd be good at the job, I might be able to give advice to teams that don't know what you are doing. my main concern would be if the fighter would be able to rehydrate in the 30-36 hours they have before the fight.

Dehydration is a component in even the most basic of EMT educations. So yes, medical doctors are experts on the effects of dehydration, and the means to correct said condition.

Cutting weight is ridiculous, it is so strange that we cut weight. Let’s dehydrate ourselves to fight/compete better. We did it in taekwondo it sucks and tbh idk that I actually did any better

The problem is the fighters and the doctors won't reach a compromise, they talk at each other not to each other So you listen to the person with the more reputable vocation when it comes to peoples wellbeing. OR since you won't discuss like adults, you'll be told like children

theres a big difference between "been there, done that" knowledge and pinheaded school "knowledge"

chael sonnen is the Bro Fessor of MMA period ... everyone should have a Sonnen PHD before stepping into UFC

Doctors are just people... We invest too much in them. Yes, respect for what they do. But they are not always right. Mine gave me high blood pressure medication and diagnosed diabetes type 2.. One year latter .. and no medicine I have neither. Just changed my diet and exercised... stopped alcohol... soft drinks.. drank water.. ate fruit and veges.. little or no meat. Ride - walk... gardening.. early to bed - early to rise... never miss breakfast...and a regime of vitamins and fish oil capsules. Went back...to a new doctor.. both symptoms gone. Thank you very much.. bow bow bow

Doctor worship is strong in this comment section.

Joe Rogan had it right; average natural weight of fighter accessed over time, theyre placed into that weight class.

Subscribed 20 minutes ago after hearing him on other shows but hearing this dude talk about how years of education and experience isn’t good enough for overseeing medical matters is too much

Chael Sonnen's brain> Doctors and scientists brain

So MMA fighters know more about health than doctors do?

Crying Shame I can't Thumbs up this Greatest of all Chael Rants (aka First Rate Education) more than once. I have watched (more importantly, I Listened) to this 3 times now and learn something new each time. Thank you Chael

Just because a Doctor hasnt done it doesnt mean they cant be a subject matter expert on the subject. Doctors are extremely intelligent in the field of medicine and the human body. Doesnt mean they have to have Cancer, AIDS, etc to understand or treat it. Weight cutting is an American problem because people think being the bigger fighter is beneficial, period. Younger athletes can traditionally lose more body weight easier than older fighters and therefore try to fight 2-3 weight classes below what they could be fighting in thinking that advantage will be superior to give them success and that success is MONEY - period.

Chael's idea is coming to Bellator and the UFC, the question is when. The NCAA got rid of dehydration in 1997 and One FC got rid of it in 2015, in both cases after competitors died. It is silly that these organizations are waiting for someone else to die before they sign on.

Doctors who are Oncologists don't know a thing about their expertise because they've never had cancer before? Come on Chael, that line of thinking is silly. Dehydration and means of dehydrating are one of the most documented things in human history. It's not rocket science and a doctor would be able to get a fairly quick grasp on the topic if he wasn't informed already. I get the points you're trying to get across but leaving them out of the discussion because you think since they haven't dehydrated through the means a wrestler has or any other person, then they don't actually know what they're talking about. That's really just ignorant. Yeah some of the doctors might be ignorant of the sports themselves, but their input isn't invalid because of that.

fighters know how to weigh cut but we doctors know what and how to do it better, highly one dimensional thinking by chael

Either do same day weigh-ins and have fighters stop cutting weight, or only cutting a few lbs. Or... The beginning of Fight Week have the weigh-ins at the beginning of the week. And allow the fighters to have 5 days to replenish themselves. That way there is no excuse to weight issues.

Wooooooooow An all American wrestler.....revolutionizing the way to look at weight cutting You sir, are my new hero, Goddamn dude, i am really impressed with this talk

Weight cutting is sanctioned cheating. The goal of weigh-INs: fair fights. The goals of weight CUTS: 1. Fight someone smaller than you (CHEATING). 2. Avoid fighting someone bigger than you. After enough did number 1, everyone else did number 2. THE SOLUTION An organization (USADA) sees that fighters are randomly weighed once a week. Fighters have ~8 hours to be weighed at a designated location. Official weight is the average of the last 3. Fights are made based on this number. If a fighter can't do a weigh-in, they just can't fight until they get 3 in a row. BENEFITS: No weight cut No lost events Weights become accurate No championship belt problems Operations costs covered by stable events Weekly updates on weight for media / promotion PROBLEMS: Initial cost Administration & oversight of program Everyone goes up in weight, including champs

Weight cutting is still super prevalent in wrestling. In college alone ive seen kids who look huge for the weight class perform like shit because they cut 20 lbs

chael is right, get rid of weight cutting, if u can fight, fight at your regular weight, that weight cutting can take a toll on fighters n u don't really see their full fighting potential, because they always drained physically n mentally . I thought chael was just a loud mouth, but after watching some of his videos, he makes a lot of senses on a lot of topics

"Hey doc, have you ever had brain cancer?" "well, no" "Hey doc, have you ever helped someone get brain cancer?" "well, no" "pfft, how the hell can doctors claim theyre experts on brain cancer?!?"

I've never fought AIDS but if I do I'd listen to my doctor...

Either get rid of weight cutting or nothing. Regulated weight cutting is stupid. If anything its less safe with regulated weight cutting because fighters wont be hydrated after the weight cut.

In IPF powerlifting there are 2 hour weigh-ins and people still cut some weight, but on average it's in the neighbourhood of 3-5% of bodyweight. There are some that cut more but not many. And that much weight is relatively easy to cut and recover. Some people can fluctuate by that much over the course of a normal week.

Chael acts like 90% of the roster does drain 20 pounds of fluid out of their system just to step on a scale

The athletic commissions' inability to make fast, clear, and decisive decisions in regards to rule-sets in MMA is embarrassing to the sport, dangerous to the fighters, and ultimately dangerous to the sport as a whole. For example, the concept of MMA constantly growing is reliant on marketability and making the sport more universally accepted to new audiences. MMA is big in north America, but it still has ALOT of growing to do in order to compete with sports like soccer, cricket, to name a few. If some body dies from a weight cut, could you imagine the press and media coverage for the event? It would get national news (which the sport currently does not receive outside major sports broadcasting). It would be like an nfl player dying on the field from a tackle. That would be the worst thing that could happen to the sport, because it would immediately put a black eye on MMA in the eyes of people who don't know much about it (who the sport relies on for future growth in a linear fashion). One could argue that the sport, in its infancy, was already being demonized and labelled a blood sport for serial killers and rapists, but isn't it more unlikely that the world would accept the sport had some one died, than back when the sport was still relatively taboo and unknown to the masses? I seriously think this could ruin the sport from growing bigger than it already is, and would provide a black eye that could never heal. And it's not up to the athlete's judgement to decide when is enough, because they are looking for any edge they can get (just look at the olympics and doping). Rather, it's ultimately up to the commission's ability to make fast decisions before some body dies, make the rules made clear and universal across all commissions, and to be more decisive in their decision making by being more serious about every rule they set out (which includes standing by their decisions and not "flip-flopping", and go all-the-way with their decisions instead of a "half-this-way, half-that-way" approach). Am I the only one on this?

13:38 One of their names was billy sailor my parents were great friends with him. He died his freshman year he was wearing a sauna suit and was riding his bike to practice when he passed out

Have a weigh-in the week before the fight. Then one more the day of or before the fight. If you're not under the weight for both then you don't fight.

Chael is dropping some good points.

Happy fourth..but like max sed ....the real fireworks are on sat the 7th

The only "real" problem with wieght cutting is the new aggressive techniques just quagmire the divisions with fighters that belong in a higher weight class and sometimes even 2 wieght classes up. If cuts we're limited to % of overall it would add a new look to current divisions.

Max after fail weight cut was in bed saying "someone fucking get Chael please"

Be skeptical is a good practice, leaving the door open (the doctor might be wrong) leads to more options, asumming that the opinion of the doctor is just right without evidence is what we call in science the Autority Falacy.

excessive weight cutting would be (im pretty sure this is kinda clear isnt it) a weight cut that ended up doing permanent damage to one body

america needs chael as president

Ive said this about weight cutting for years.... its ridiculous... 2% dehydration causes like 10% strength loss. A lot these guys gas much earlier because of the weight cuts... id rather see a better product and fighters peaking because they werent literally destroying themselves up to the fight. When you combine that with the inherent safety risks its ridiculous they dont just move the weight cut to an hour or two before the fight. Problem would be solved immediately.

I don't think his argument makes sense. A doctor doesn't have to have cancer in order to treat cancer. just like they don't have to dehydrate to supervise someone who is dehydrated

Its moot point not mute point Chael. Don't feel badly many people make the same mistake mate

I will admit when you see Connor come out at 155 and look like the crypt keeper it looks unsettling. I don't need to see a guy fight at 45 then 35, then look dead at 25 and try to fight.

What if, hear me out for a second, we say fuck weight cutting and no longer allow it in the first place since it's not good for the fighters nor the sport anyways. It'll fuck up the divisions at first, but I don't care man; it's not healthy, and too many fighters have been getting away with missing weight and winning as the bigger fighter these days.

Doctors are experts at the issue of human dehydration. Which is cutting weight.

How can a professional fighter not know that weightcutting still exists in college wrestling

One of Chael's gifts in life is the ability to take a bullshit argument and make it sound convincing. With his rant about medical professionals, he did that very well. But that doesn't change the fact that it was a bullshit argument. Even though doctors never cut weight themselves, they don't need to in order to understand what is going to happen. That is what studies are for. None of us need to put a gun to our head and pull the trigger in order to understand what the result will be. The same argument applies to this circumstance. Props to Chael though. The man is one helluva troll.

Chael as President

I like the idea of having the weigh in an hour before the fight. No time to rehydrate, so it just wont happen.

What's the standard? you can't have someone who says they're qualified and oversaw a weight cut to be the expert. you have to monitor cardiac rhythm, electrolytes, etc. Chael! You shouldn't be allowed to cut more than x % of weight within an x amount of time frame.

my opinion is that the problematic "health issue" is dehydration. can we not just monitor water levels in the body and outlaw dehydration? I feel that if a fighter was not allowed to fight after dehydrating themselves, they would do it less often, or rather, less fighters would do it.

The movie is “There’s something about Mary”..great movie!

Weight cutting is the biggest flaw in MMA, it is dangerous and is cheating in some way. It needs to be cut from sport.

I think you should look into a condition called Low Laten inhibition or LLI. I have this and think you may have it as well. Should explain a lot once you are aware of it. Love your show and channel!

Chael "But I Am Voicing To You That There's A Deeper Conversation There" Sonnen.

Gotta Love "The American Gangster" Chael P Sonnen..The Man, The Myth, The Legend. You are my Doctor Chael, Id let you advise me Anytime

Wait. So fighters dont have a Dr (from anyone) to consult on fight week? Because that Dr would have an ass ton of expeirence and would be great resource for the overall health of the fighter.

Why not weigh in 10 minutes before the fight? People should be fighting at their actual weight not the weight they can get down to when they've dried themselves out near to the point of death. What would actually change? Literally everyone would just move up one weight class - nobody gains or loses anything and the match-ups are all the same except the fighters are safe, healthy and will probably perform better. People cut weight because they think it gives them an advantage, like "I'm really a middleweight so cutting down to welterweight means I can beat up smaller guys" - except EVERYONE is doing that so you're just fighting other dehydrated middleweights. Sure some people cut weight better than others which gives a slight advantage - but that's just even more reason this shit needs to stop. Anyone disagree?

aaaaaaand max is off the card.

By his logic then no one should trust professional fighters when it comes to fighting styles because they are biased right ...