Alex Poatán was defeated by Magomed Ankalayev No. UFC 313. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News
After the defeat of Alex Poatán to Magomed Ankalayev No. UFC 313, several theories have emerged to explain the former champion's uninspired performance. One of them is a possible error in the weight cut. Suspecting this theory, Gilbert Durinho, that already suffered from the same problem, sought the opinion of an expert to confirm the hypothesis.
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In a conversation on Durinho's YouTube channel, sports nutrition specialist Lucas Catta Preta analyzed a photo of Poatan published a week before the weigh-in and indicated that the former champion was slightly above the ideal weight cut. According to Lucas, the best scenario for a fighter is to be up to 10% above the category limit a week before the weigh-in. From that point on, a specific diet begins to accelerate weight loss before the final dehydration.
“I did the math and he was approximately 12% over his weight class. The ideal weight is up to 10% over the weight class limit. Let’s say you’re fighting in the 77 kg weight class; you can reach a maximum of 84,7 kg a week before. That’s the ideal weight. Because, during this ‘fight week’ phase, we start a specific diet to help us lose weight faster until we start dehydrating. And, when it comes to dehydrating, we have several studies that show that the safest thing to do is to lose between 5% and 6% of your body weight. Anything more than that can pose a risk to your performance or health,” Lucas explained.
A specialist in nutrition for combat sports, Lucas has helped several UFC athletes cut weight, including Gilbert Durinho, Vincent Luque, Viviane Araujo, Gabriel Bonfim, Ismael Bonfim, Rudolph Vieira, Among others.
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