The Chief Executive Officer of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong, is unwavering in his support of the protocols that have been established to prevent fighters from endangering their health by severely dehydrating themselves through intense weight reduction.
Weight cutting is an essential component of mixed martial arts, but in recent years, the discipline has been subjected to rampant misuse by competitors, which has a significant impact on the fighters’ ability to compete when the actual competition takes place. The goal of ONE Championship is to alter the way that fighters compete by instituting standards that ensure a fighter is well hydrated before entering the Circle.
During his appearance on the Just Scrap Radio podcast, Sityodtong described the purpose of the promotion’s hydration testing and how it serves to protect every fighter on the roster. He also explained how the testing is conducted.
“We want to ensure the health of our athletes as well as the safety of athletes, and having a system that is hydrated is far better so that athletes don’t go put their bodies through deep dehydration,” Sityodtong added. That is very detrimental to the organs, very detrimental to the brain, and very detrimental to the body. And without a doubt, we are ecstatic to take the initiative in terms of both innovation and the protection of athletes all over the world.
The purpose of the hydration tests is not to let the competitors risk their health by letting themselves to get dangerously dehydrated before a fight, but rather to ensure that the competitors maintain their health and are able to continue competing. A level playing field is created as a result of the process since fighters are often more likely to compete in the weight class that corresponds most closely to their natural weight.
Rich Franklin, the Vice President of Operations for ONE Championship, was a guest on an episode of Food Truck Diaries with Brendan Schaub. He discussed how hydration testing can ultimately lead to a more exciting product within the Circle.
“One of the reasons we have a 70% finish rate and really exciting fights in ONE Championship is because the athletes are fully hydrated,” the chief of ONE said. “One of the reasons we have a 70% finish rate and really exciting fights in ONE Championship.” You’re not going to be drained and yet be able to perform. If you and I are in a fight against each other and we both have to cut, then it’s like, “Well, we now have to manage our weight cuts correctly, so we’re going to come back and perform at a percentage of our optimal level because we’ve been dehydrated.”
