Chuck Liddell claims he cut more than 19 pounds in a day for one of his UFC fights
UFC legend Chuck Liddell has claimed that he cut 19 and a half pounds in one day for one of his fights with the promotion. At the age of 51, it’s clear to see he’s taken a lot of damage throughout the course of his career, and while many attribute that to the knockout defeats he’s suffered, it also goes beyond that.
During a recent interview with AEW wrestler and former WWE star Chris Jericho, Chuck Liddell revealed that he once cut over 19 pounds in one day for a UFC fight.
“I’d get my weight to a reasonable amount, I’d lose my water weight, I didn’t like to lose more than 10 pounds of water weight. I made some mistakes cutting weight sometimes, I think the worst was when I cut 19 and a half [pounds] in a day. It was in one day, and it was the day of weigh-ins, too.”
Jericho proceeded to ask Chuck Liddell exactly how that was possible.
“All water, a little sauna time and plastics [sweatsuit]. It wasn’t easy - I was cramping when I was warming up for that fight.”
You can listen to the entire podcast episode here.
The majority of us wouldn’t be able to do that if we were given over a week to do so, but as we all know, these fighters are a different breed. They’ll do whatever it takes in search of glory, and as confirmed here by Chuck Liddell, there’s no line that won’t be crossed in the name of making weight.
'The Ice Man' is best known in mixed martial arts for his incredible run in the UFC, with the majority of fans often looking at him as one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport. From his title defenses to The Ultimate Fighter and beyond, his superstardom spread across the landscape of MMA and into the mainstream.
Chuck Liddell isn't the only one who takes weight cutting to the extreme
Unfortunately, some of these stories regarding weight cutting haven’t subsided as time has gone on. Fighters have time and again taken extreme measures to cut drastic amounts of weight, putting themselves at risk. Ryan Benoit’s weigh-in for UFC Vegas 26 serves as a perfect example of the same.
Something needs to be done because eventually, we could have a tragedy on our hands.