Paddy Pimblett and Kayla Harrison warned about extreme weight cutting by UFC fighter who faced the consequences

A UFC fighter warns punters to consider the potential impacts of weight cutting on Paddy Pimblett and Kayla Harrison's careers. As both fighters struggle with weight management, odds may shift in favor of opponents if Pimblett and Harrison's health deteriorates, affecting their performance in future bouts. Weight cutting remains one of mixed martial arts’ biggest unsolved problems, with fighters risking their bodies days out from reaching the cage to hit divisional limits.

The topic was prominent in early June ahead of Kayla Harrison’s win over Julianna Pena at UFC 316. The two-time Olympic champion was making the championship mark of 135 pounds for the very first time. Harrison committed to bantamweight in order to compete in the UFC, having won her two PFL titles as a lightweight. That’s left the American with an incredibly difficult and grueling weight cut.

The discussion receives similar attention when Pimblett competes, owing to the Scouser’s drastic fluctuation in weight between fights. While he competes at 155 pounds, Pimblett has admitted he gets above 200 pounds after bouts.

Paul Craig speaks from experience in warning to Paddy Pimblett and Kayla Harrison

Another fighter who’s been vocal in discussing their experience cutting weight is light heavyweight veteran Paul Craig. The Scotsman is set to make his return to 205 pounds at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Atlanta following a period down at middleweight. Craig performed a major cut to drop down in weight, and he admits that the decision took a big toll on his body.

Craig disclosed some of the physical issues he had as a result of weight cutting during a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, warning both Harrison and Pimblett of similar issues down the line. “When you look at Paddy Pimblett, he’s getting an eating disorder where he binges and he ends up ballooning up, and then he ends up shredding all the way back down,” Craig said. “When I think about my own career, I think about the negative effects that making middleweight had on my body.

“Some of the things that happened to me: we had to get regular blood tests because our testosterone levels were low. My white blood cell counts were low so we weren’t able to fight any infections, and I’m talking something as simple as a cold would have flatlined me. I ended up with a lot of infections because my body wasn’t able to fight it off.

“That’s what I’m doing and I only made middleweight four times, I only did that cut four times within two years,” Craig added. “Then I think about guys like Paddy Pimblett who’s done this repeatedly in his career. I’m thinking that’s gonna have a huge impact in terms of the longevity of his career.

“As he gets older, this becomes a little bit harder. The body starts to slow down a little and it’s going to be much harder these coming years. The same for Kayla Harrison, it’s going to get to a point where her body’s going to be like, ‘No, we can’t do this, your muscle mass is too big.’”

Kayla Harrison admits UFC 316 weight cut almost led to her retiring

Those remarks likely won’t come as a surprise for Harrison, who has made it clear that she’s well aware of the dangerous and physically demanding practice she performs in order to compete at bantamweight. And things became so tough for the former judoka ahead of UFC 316 that Harrison even contemplated retirement.

“I’m not gonna lie to you. Friday morning, I thought about retiring on Saturday night,” Harrison told Luke Thomas. “It takes a piece of your soul. It takes a piece out of you, but it also builds a piece of you that, again, I’ve been talking about it. I will never be able to do it justice or explain it. I don’t have the words for it.”

With that in mind, Harrison may not have many fights left at 135 pounds before her body pushes back against her stint in the division. By all accounts, the newly crowned bantamweight queen will have at least one — a long-awaited clash with her former teammate Amanda Nunes.

A UFC Atlanta fighter with experience shedding excessive weight sees potential problems in Paddy Pimblett and Kayla Harrison’s future. Weight cutting remains one of mixed...

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