“They need to increase the penalty” - Denis Puric suggests harsher penalties for missing weight after Rodtang mishap
Canadian striking veteran 'The Bosnian Menace' Denis Puric believes there needs to be a massive change in professional fighting when it comes to weigh in penalties. The 39-year-old star suggests making sanctions tougher on erring fighters, to keep everyone in check.
Puric recently dropped a unanimous decision loss to reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion 'The Iron Man' Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video a few weeks ago.
But the nature of the fight was marred with controversy before the two athletes ever stepped into the Circle, with Rodtang missing weight by more than six pounds the day prior.
Puric received 25 percent of Rodtang's overall fight purse, and while a hefty sum for sure, 'The Bosnian Menace' believes it just wasn't enough for the Thai fighter to take seriously.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, Puric suggested an alternative.
'The Bosnian Menace' said:
"I think that definitely fighters should be getting penalized for missing weight. Definitely, 25 percent is not enough. Because I bet you if they made it to 80 percent, everybody will be making weight. So I think that they need to increase the penalty for sure. And then the fighters can think whether do they want to miss out on all that money right and focus on making weight and hire the right people and have the right people around them to help with these things."
Denis Puric suggests Rodtang hire a professional to help with his conditioning: "That's something we talked about"
After their epic battle, Denis Puric and Rodtang spent an entire day together, grabbing food and playing football. The two became instant friends.
Puric then took the time to suggest Rodtang some help regarding his weight.
'The Bosnian Menace' told Sportskeeda:
"One thing I'd like him [Rodtang] to do is to get a nutritionist. That's something we talked about. I had my nutritionist there, my strength and conditioning coach, and we were just kinda explaining to him and his brother in law, who is also a fighter. Well, my coach explained to him a bunch of things he's never knew and now, they have a direct contact with coach Kobes, and if they ever need anything, any kind of help, I told him to let us know. We want you to do everything right. If this guy takes care of his body, he can rule the world."