ReactQ/YoutubeAn MMA fighter went on to compete despite having to be held up at his weigh-in the day before.
Daniel Lima, a Brazilian-Australian professional mixed martial artist, lost his seven-fight winning streak on Sunday in Japan, 24 hours after the worrying scenes.
Lima could barely stand up on his own at the Tokyo weigh-in for his straw-weight bout with Daichi Kitakata, writes MMA Fighting.
He was held up as he struggled to get on the scales at the Pancrase 290 weigh-in.
Lima missed the weight by two pounds and the scene still wasn’t enough for his coaches or his promoters to cancel the fight.
The fighter spoke with MMA Fighting a few hours before the fight and explained he’d ‘cut 16 pounds in two days’, saying:
Since it was my first time outside of Brazil and I had no experience, I thought it would be easy. It was tough, painful.
Daniel Lima up now. This means he passed the medical tests but I'm still not sure he should be fighting after the shape he was in
— MEGATON (@BasedDongeezus) October 8, 2017
Lima says he was ‘really bad’ after weighing in, and was asked by the promoters if he would fight.
He said:
Of course, I’m ready and strong.
The bout lasted 15 minutes, but Lima said he believed he ‘did enough’ to win the first two rounds, adding:
They gave it to him. I was weak due to the extreme weight cut (at the weigh-ins), but I was really fine, 100 per cent for the fight.
According to Lima, he has two fights left on his contract with Pancrase.
Let me say it again and clearly. SHAME on his team SHAME on his coach and SHAME on the promotion. You are all a DISGRACE to our sport. https://t.co/GEMFmMd2hM
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) October 9, 2017
John Kavanagh, who is Conor McGregor’s head coach, was fuming with Lima’s team, his coach and with the Pancrase promotion for allowing the fighter to enter the ring after such a dramatic weight cut and worrying weigh-in.
He said in a tweet:
Let me say it again and clearly. SHAME on his team SHAME on his coach and SHAME on the promotion.
You are all a DISGRACE to our sport.
Peter O Riordan, a TV host, also said it was ‘disgraceful’ and added ‘this is how you die’.
In other news, disgraceful weight cutting for this mma outfit……
When will people learn THIS Ais how u die…..
U see this @John_Kavanagh https://t.co/hQ3p87bzgE— Peter O Riordan (@PeterORIordan1) October 9, 2017
Fellow fighter Dan ‘Hangman’ Hooker posted footage of the weigh-in and wrote a scathing statement on his professional Facebook page, again, echoing the sentiments of others about the extreme weight-cutting as well as the fact Lima was allowed to fight, which he labelled ‘disgraceful.
Hooker said:
This is exactly how people die cutting weight.
His coaches and the promotion are a complete disgrace. They allowed this kid to fight yesterday.
This is exactly how people die cutting weight! ?His coaches and the promotion are a complete disgrace. They allowed this kid to fight yesterday on PANCRASE 290.
Posted by Dan "Hangman" Hooker on Sunday, 8 October 2017
This is just one of a number of controversial weigh-ins seen in the world of MMA, including a well-documented weigh-in by Daniel Cormier.
Before his fight earlier this year for UFC 210, Cormier looked drained and appeared to stumble into the weigh-in area – after coming up heavy he was weighed again just two minutes later, and had ‘lost 1.2 pounds’.
Apparently, it’s a trick where the fighter grabs a towel to offset their weight, thus causing the scale to read lighter.
Speaking at a press conference after the fight, Cormier said:
I made the weight. That’s how you put it to rest.
Made the weight, fought tonight, defended my championship. If I was holding the towel I was just trying to hide myself. My whole ass was showing.
Sounds risky to me, health is surely the most important thing, as demonstrated by the UFC pulling Mizuto Hirota from a card last month due to similarly erratic weigh-in behaviour.
