Leben reportedly cut 21 lbs. in 24 hours for UFC 138 bout

source: fightersonlymagazine.co.uk

Chris Leben cut nearly 21 pounds in 24 hours to make weight for his fight with Mark Munoz, Fighters Only was told ahead of last night’s bout.

The 31-year old middleweight had “a terrible weight cut” and was in such bad shape before the weigh ins that medical staff were keeping a very close eye on him.

A source close to Leben told Fighters Only on Friday that Leben had been left “shattered” by the amount of weight he had to cut on weigh-in day.

He was in the hotel sauna from Friday morning hooded up and wearing layers of clothing as he sweated water out of his body.

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11/8/11 4:46 PM by glupe

........I hate hearing stories about people cutting a ton a weight in 24 hours, it's all their own fault, whether it be an illness or an injury, grow up and shut up or just don't take the fight.

11/8/11 4:33 PM by stlnl2

I know you know this already, but dont you think there might be just a tiny bit of difference with the amount of weight you can get away with cutting for wrestling and for a pro MMA bout? Wrestling has shorter periods, you dont get hit (this is a big one due to the fluid surrounding the brain that gets depleted during a cut), and though it is a tough sport, has no where near the danger involved.

11/8/11 4:16 PM by stlnl2

Its 13 pounds, and it is done the next day/morning of the fight (usually around 12ish hours after the first weigh in). So you can put on more than 13 lbs, just not before the second weigh in (which tends to be around 10AM, and the first weigh in around 7-8PM the night before).

11/8/11 1:32 PM by smac3dot0

nah, if you know how to manage the cut and replenishment, you'll be fine the next evening. don't forget there's nearly 30 hours between weighins and fight time.i used to cut 9 or 10lbs for wrestling more than once a week and that was when i was wrestling only a couple of hours after weighins and wrestled at 98lbs.

11/7/11 11:56 PM by rundymc

You are misinformed.They do not dehydrate during the week. They lose water weight. This is done via diet. GSP's former SnC guy, Chaimberg, has talked about Georges cutting 20lbs over the course of the week, barely using a sauna. granted Georges is advanced at this stuff, and uses a combination of carb/salt loading and depletion (3-4 days out according to Chaimberg).Your body holds on to a significant amount of water when it stores glycogen in the muscles and liver. By not replenishing that glycogen optimally (using a low carb diet for instance), you can lose a good deal of weight within a relatively short period of time (days). Technically speaking, this isn't dehydration. You can drink all the water you want, and your body will piss and sweat off the excess, using the rest for bodily functions.This process of losing weight via diet is still part of the cut however. Most fighters will diet down to 5-10lbs and sweat the rest off. Some smaller guys don't bother with the dieting-a-week-out part and sit in a sauna, but if you're big for your weight cat, you're going to have to do it.Now, losing 21lbs in 24hours implies Leben really did have to sit in a sauna and sweat it all out. This leads to a lot of problems with dehydration, and imposes a large stressor to the body. The heat and cardiovascular activity would have adversely affected him. Losing that much water in such a short period of time requires some time to recover from. If Leben had done it 'the right way', yes 20lbs is miniscule for a 205lb guy as lean as he is. But in one shot? You get a guy that usually goes hard for 2 rounds gassing within the first.

11/7/11 11:50 PM by The Experiment

Munoz cut all water. I had him drinking a gallon everyday till Thursday night. Easy cut!Krzysztof

11/7/11 11:32 PM by OmegaPoon

brilliant before a 5 rounder...

11/7/11 11:21 PM by mike_rizzo

i also think leben deserves a rematch

11/7/11 11:20 PM by mike_rizzo

they said you made a comment on how good munoz looked on the pads, i love leben but i think youd fuck them both up.

11/7/11 11:12 PM by RickStormsHotSister

Lol, I'm a noob? Look at what I asked; I asked about how do fans refer to the loss. Do they refer to it as dieting or cutting? I have always heard: "Rumble cuts 40 lbs to get down to 170". Obviously that doesn't mean that he cut the weight in the day before the weighin; when people say "cut" they mean "lose", whether it be from dieting or sweating in a sauna. But nice post, douche.

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