Cris Cyborg attributes weight cutting issues to use of birth control pills

In May the UFC announced new weight cutting guidelines, beginning the week of UFC 200.

The new guidelines include a stipulation that all fighters must be within 8 percent of their target weight when they check in for fight week, which takes place on a Tuesday before a Saturday fight.

The only hard and fast rule in there, and I think it’s probably the most important thing in terms of the guidelines, is that 8 percent number, said Jeff Novitzky, the UFC vice president of athlete health and performance. If they’re not, it’s not in the rules the fight won’t happen, but we sure are going to pay very close attention to them, including taking daily weight, daily vitals, and as it progresses, if they show signs of being dehydrated, they will be pulled from the fight.

On Monday Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino appeared on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, and reported that she woke up at 165. On Friday she fights Lina Lansberg in the main event of UFC Fight Night 95 at a catchweight of 140.

Eight percent of 141 is 152 pounds, so Justino is far from the mark. Novitzky called Cyborg, and her condition and progress are being monitored.

The first episode of Justino’s Nação Cyborg fight vlog was released on Monday, and showed the distraught fighter attributing her extra weight to the use of the birth control medication drospirenone, which she took at the suggestion of her nutritionist George Lockhart.

The use of the pills was prompted by Justino’s difficult periods during her last weight cut, which were brutal. Lockhart, who showed some frustration in the vlog, also said that drospirenone lowers aldosterone, and that aldosterone causes fluid retention.

There’s tons of studies that show it has a diuretic effect, said Lockhart to Steven Marrocco and Mike Bohn for MMAjunkie.

And there was no time to drop the use of drospirenone

The problem is, once you get so long into camp, you can’t go off it again, said Lockhart. Because what happens is, your hormones have to readjust. And it’s like, we don’t have time for this. I made a decision. We’re going to follow this all the way through.

Cyborg was not convinced that the addition of birth control pills, something she had never taken before, was a wise decision.

I just didn’t understand why he changed the player when we won the game, she said. My last fight I made 140, and we had a hard time, but we made it. I don’t know why we changed it for this camp and used birth control, and it made me heavier. Today I’m heavier than the last fight, but I trust him, and I trained really hard for this fight. Let’s see what happens. He would have to explain about everything.

I like everything perfect. Once something’s not perfect, I get really annoyed and can cry. When something goes wrong, I’m not happy, and it frustrates me a little bit. But my mind is strong for the fights. My career, I have a lot of stories about cutting weight and then getting better. People think now it’s worse, but now it’s getting better because I have a professional that’s supposed to be the best and helps make it better. I think it will be OK. I don’t know.

The highly respect Lockhart said Justino’s health and safety was his primary concern.

If somebody had to go to the hospital on my time, how does that look? he said. Not only from a moral standpoint, but obviously Cris is a close friend, but also in terms of a business standpoint, it doesn’t look really good.

My biggest issue is that she’s stressed out. I’ve got to relax her as much as possible.

Lockhart said this would be the hardest cut ever, but he was very confident she would make the catchweight.