Arman Tsarukyan injured his back only a few days before his scheduled UFC lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev. According to the fighter, as soon as he started his weight cut, he injured his back, and he couldn’t even move. This has now started a new debate around weight cutting, bringing back Joe Rogan‘s infamous comments on the matter.
A few years ago, Rogan stated that weight cutting is indeed ‘sanctioned cheating’ due to the unfair advantage it gives to fighters. Recently, former UFC fighter Josh Barnett did an interview with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, where they talked about Tsarukyan’s latest incident. During the conversation, Barnett revealed his weight cutting has turned out to be such a scary part of MMA fighting.
You don’t get Arman Tsarukyan having back problems if you don’t have insane weight cutting …I think weight cutting is the number one most dangerous element to the sport of MMA and the biggest legal cheating method that has ever been allowed in combat sports.
Josh Barnett via The Ariel Helwani Show
Arman Tsarukyan fights in the UFC lightweight division, but due to his stocky physique, he walks around at 185 lbs. The fighter has never missed weight in his career, but this time, it was different. While his coaches have dismissed such rumors, the debate around the situation is unavoidable.
“You don’t get Arman Tsarukyan having back problems if you don’t have insane weight cutting.”@JoshLBarnett‘s strong take on weight cutting in MMA 👀
“I think weight cutting is the number one most dangerous element to the sport of MMA and the biggest legal cheating method that… pic.twitter.com/0kcndHWA5s
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 20, 2025
Rogan has been talking about the horrors of weight cutting for a long time now in his podcasts. According to Rogan, weight cutting is worse than using PEDs as it gives fighters an unfair size advantage during the fight night. Other than Rogan, many other UFC fighters have shared their personal issues due to weight cutting.
UFC lightweight talks about the negative impact of weight-cutting that Joe Rogan mentioned
Weight cutting has been an integral part of UFC for a long time now. It involves extreme weight loss through dehydration, dieting, and exercise to compete in specific weight classes. After cutting massive weight, fighters eat everything they can to gain as much weight on fight night.
Paddy Pimblett’s extreme weight cut (via Instagram/X)This process poses significant risks, including organ damage, impaired performance, and dehydration, raising concerns about fighters’ safety and regulatory reforms. UFC lightweight fighter Paddy Pimblett is known for ballooning up to 200 lbs outside fight camp. As per the fighter, it has become a negative habit for him.
I genuinely think I’m a food addict. I think I’ve got a bit of an eating disorder because of MMA. The weight cuts, dieting, I genuinely think I have a bit of an eating disorder. People when they go eat with me they are visibly shocked at how much I can eat.
Paddy Pimblett via Steve-O’s Wild Ride
Many experts in the MMA community have raised concerns about Pimblett’s unusual and extreme weight cuts. However, the fighter often shuts down these criticisms with his performances. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see whether ‘Baddy’ decides to bring out some changes in the future.
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