Fight Week & Post-Fight Weight Cut Guide

This page outlines what to expect during fight week and immediately after competition. Two weigh-in styles are referenced throughout: day-before and same-day.

Follow any protocol at your own discretion and under the guidance of a trained medical professional. This information works best when the weeks before your cut include heat acclimation practice and a diet that has been intentionally planned around fiber, carbohydrates, sodium, training, and recovery.

7 Days Out — Get Organized

  • Hydration: Use optimal intake and avoid extremes. A common target is 50 ml/kg of body weight.
  • Nutrition: Keep protein and fats steady. For day-before weigh-ins, begin light carbohydrate restriction. For same-day weigh-ins, start swapping high gut-residue foods for low gut-residue foods such as white rice instead of brown rice or refined bread instead of whole grain.
  • Training: Use a normal taper with no last-minute intense sessions.
  • Checklist: Gather weigh-in essentials: towels, scale, wrap or sauna suit, familiar refuel foods, and hypotonic oral rehydration solution.

6 Days Out — Keep Cruise Control

  • Hydration & Nutrition: Keep the same structure as 7 days out.
  • Training: Focus on recovery and sleep quality.

5 Days Out — Consistency

  • Hydration & Nutrition: Keep the same approach as 7-6 days out.
  • Logistics: Confirm weigh-in time, travel, and accommodations.

4 Days Out — Sodium Taper & Water Load

  • Hydration: Begin water load. Aim for 100 ml of water/kg of body weight. Drink up to 1 liter per hour and do not exceed that rate.
  • Sodium: Start lowering salt. Do not cut it completely; reduce it. Use about 500 mg of sodium/kg of body weight max.
  • Nutrition: Keep the same approach as 7-5 days out.

3 Days Out — Low-Fiber Focus

  • Hydration: Continue water load.
  • Sodium: Continue sodium taper.
  • Fiber: Switch fully to low-residue foods such as white rice, refined carbs, and peeled fruits. Aim for less than 10-15 g of fiber per day.
  • Nutrition: Keep the same approach as 7-4 days out.

2 Days Out — Hold the Line

  • Hydration: Continue water load.
  • Sodium & Fiber: Continue tapering.
  • Nutrition: Keep the same approach as 7-4 days out.
  • Training: Use only light movement and prioritize rest.

1 Day Out — Precision & Calm

  • Hydration: Cut water intake significantly. A common target is about 15 ml/kg of body weight over the 24 hours before weigh-in; after that, use small sips only for comfort.
  • Sodium: Less than 500 mg/kg of body weight.
  • Fiber: Extremely low, easy-to-digest meals only. Keep fiber below 10-15 g/day.
  • Food timing: Finish the last full meal about 24 hours before the scale. Keep it high protein/fat and low carb/fiber.
  • Induced sweating protocol, day-before only: Do this only under the supervision of a trained medical professional. Mix active and passive sweating the evening before weigh-in, do not lose more than half of your remaining weight, and do not expose yourself to high heat for longer than 20 minutes at a time.
  • Prepare: Tub access, towels, thermometer, sauna suit, thick blanket, oral rehydration solutions, and an accurate scale.

Weigh-In Day — Final Push

  • Before the scale, use only small sips of water and avoid prolonged heat.
  • Induced sweating: For day-before weigh-ins, a supervised bath-and-wrap method may be used. For same-day weigh-ins, use only gentle aerobic warm-up such as a stationary bike or standard warm-up exercises.
  • Bath: 99-107.5°F until a consistent sweat interval is observed.
  • Duration: Once consistent, stay in the bath no more than 20 minutes.
  • Exit: Leave slowly and dry off low to the ground.
  • Wrap: Sauna suit plus towels or blanket. Once sweating is consistent again, stay no more than 40 minutes.
  • Break: Rest 20-30 minutes, weigh, and repeat only as needed.
  • Safety: Stop immediately for rapid pulse, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or light-headedness.
  • Cooling: Use lukewarm water only. Do not use cold plunges.

After Weigh-In — Refuel Framework

  • Replace fluids gradually with hypotonic solutions, about 1.5 L per liter lost. Do not exceed 1 liter per hour.
  • Carbohydrates: mild cut about 4-5 g/kg, moderate cut about 6-7 g/kg, aggressive cut about 8-10 g/kg.
  • Use familiar high-GI, low-fat, low-fiber foods. Add about 20 g of creatine if you are a habitual user.
  • Finish the last meal about 3 hours before bed for calm digestion.

Fight Day — Execute

  • Fuel with carbs around 4-5 g/kg, protein about 2 g/kg, fat about 0.5 g/kg, and low fiber. Creatine about 20 g if you are a habitual user.
  • Timing: last full meal about 4 hours before warm-up; fast carbs about 45 minutes before walk-out.
  • Use familiar foods only. Nothing new on fight day.

Post-Fight — Reverse Diet & Recovery

  • Gradual regain: increase calories no more than 10% per week and aim for no more than 2 lb/week weight regain.
  • Use a simple rule: 80% of the time, eat healthy meals; 20% of the time, do not worry about it.
  • Keep structure with the same eating rhythm and slightly less precision.
  • For concussion recovery, focus on omega-3s, colorful foods, sleep, no alcohol, and high creatine intake.

References

  • Making Weight: The Ultimate Science-Based Guide to Cutting Weight for Combat Sports, Jordan Sullivan and Danny Lennon, Sigma Nutrition Publishing, 2023.
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