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Maggie Hendricks

Women must make weight if they want to be legitimate fighters


Gina Carano made headlines even before her unanimous decision over Kelly Kobold. In front of a delighted crowd, she had to strip down on Friday to make weight. Fighters taking off their clothes at a weigh-in is nothing new, but it was odd to see a woman stripped down on a scale. Carano's willingness to be mortified in order to make weight showed that she had the dedication to fighting that seemed lacking when she didn't make weight for her last Elite XC fight.

Unfortunately, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Yoko Takahashi did not follow the lead set by Carano and Santos. Both tipped the scales at 148.5 lbs., and fought at a catchweight. This is just unacceptable. Women must make weight if they want to be taken seriously.

Travis Lutter is widely considered a failure in the UFC because he blew his title shot at Anderson Silva when he didn't make weight. Thiago Alves' win over Matt Hughes doesn't have as much credence as his other wins because he was overweight. Why should we treat women any differently? Yes, it is harder for a woman to lose weight than men because our body chemistry is different. Too bad. Making weight is what you signed up for when you became a fighter. Either be willing to make sacrifices -- including stripping naked in front of a crowd of ogling eyes -- or don't fight at all.


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