Israel Adesanya says fighters who miss weight should be fined 90 percent of their purse

Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya after his win at UFC 253 told Dana White that the fighters who would miss their weight should be fined 90 percent of their purse instead of just 30 percent.

Israel Adesanya emphatically retained his championship status as he swiftly rolled his way through yet another title challenger. ”The Last Stylebender” stopped Paulo Costa in the second round of their fight. The two have had bad blood brewing between them and Adesanya had the last laugh to claim his second title defense. After securing a convincing victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 253, Israel Adesanya was seen talking to Dana White in the ring, and evidently, the Stylebender was giving the president an insight on why a severe punishment should be given to those fighters who fail to cut weight before the event.

Adesanya on fighters missing weight

On the main card, Zubaira Tukhugov came in at 150lbs for his featherweight bout against Hakeem Dawodu, and on the prelims, Ludovit Klein also weighed 150lbs for his fight against Shane Young, who is a teammate of Adesanya at City Kickboxing in New Zealand.

Both Tukhugov and Klein were fined 30% of their respective purses for missing weight, but in the eyes of the champ Adesanya, that’s not enough. Speaking to the media following UFC 253, Adesanya explained why he believes that fighters who miss weight should be hammered by the UFC and the athletic commissions with a 90% fine.

Klein ended up defeating Israel Adesanya’s teammate Shane Young, which greatly upset “The Last Stylebender.” During the post-fight presser, he vocalized his demand for an overhaul in the penalty system for competitors who miss weight.

“It’s just cheating. I saw the guy that Dawodu fought right after,” Adesanya said, referring to Tukhugov. “With 90 minutes left, he’s on the blueberries and the water and whatnot. These guys, some of them are gangsters. Some of them are making money outside the UFC. Some of them have trust funds. 30 percent of their purse ain’t sh-t.

“But I’m telling you, if you punished someone 90 percent of your purse if you miss weight, I guarantee you, no matter how much money you’re making, no one’s goes through this whole camp, through this whole sh-t and be willing to give 90 percent of their pay to the other guy. They will take that 90 minutes they had left to make the weight. They’ll take every second to make the weight.”

Adesanya spoke to Dana White about this issue right after his second-round TKO win over Paulo Costa in the main event. The UFC president didn’t disagree one bit but did admit that it’s all beyond their control.

“He’s not wrong,” White said when he spoke to the media after the event. “But that’s not our place, it’s the Commission that handles that. But he’s not wrong. Take 80 or 90% of anybody’s money, they’re gonna show up the right way.”

The middleweight champion firmly believed that the penalty for missing weight should be significantly increased to prevent fighters from missing weight. This issue is an important thing to look for as many fighters don’t take weight cutting seriously and end up getting an advantage over their opponents.

What are your thoughts on the fighters missing weight?

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