"Might as well be using steroids and just covering it up" - Israel Adesanya's coach says there's a 'massive problem' with fighters not making weight
Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman recently addressed UFC fighters missing weight in the aftermath of UFC 277.
Bareman's student, Mike Mathetha, competed on the pay-per-view card against Orion Cosce. Cosce missed weight by two-and-a-half pounds as he weighed in at 172.5lbs ahead of the event. 'Blood Diamond' eventually lost a decision in that fight.
Bareman believes Cosce shouldn't get his due credit as he cheated by not making the weight limit. While speaking in a recent interview with Combat TV, here's what the trainer of the City Kickboxing Academy had to say:
"That's part of the reason why I'm not really gonna talk too much about that fight to be honest. You could give the guy a lot of credit. But he cheated. He gets none of that. Unfortunately, nothing will really get done about this, but it's a continual problem that has to be addressed.
"Probably just too much money on the line for it to be addressed properly. Fighters not making weight, not enough incentive for them to make weight and blatantly cheating is a massive problem in the sport."
He went on to add that fighters push themselves to the absolute limit to lose the last few pounds to make weight. When a fighter misses weight, he gets an advantage over his opponent.
However, not even in a fighter's record, it gets mentioned when someone misses weight. Bareman believes it's cheating and stated that someone might use steroids and cover it up as well.
"The records just get done. There's no mention on the record of the guy missing weight. It just disappears into the universe. It's just basically cheating. You might as well be using steroids and just covering it up."
Watch Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman talk on this issue below:
Israel Adesanya is set to return at UFC 281 against Alex Pereira
While Eugene Bareman's students Kai Kara-France and Mike Mathetha didn't have successful outings at UFC 277, the renowned trainer will have to shift his focus to his most successful disciple, Israel Adesanya.
'The Last Stylebender' is set to make a return to the octagon at UFC 281 as he takes on Alex Pereira with the middleweight title on the line.
'Poatan' has had a meteoric rise to the top of the 185lbs division of the UFC. To add to that, he holds two wins over Israel Adesanya in kickboxing. Hence, he gets a shot at the middleweight champion after accumulating a record of 3-0 in the promotion.
The championship fight will headline the UFC 281 card that will take place at the Madison Square Garden arena.