Dvalishvili regains 19lb in five hours after UFC 333 weigh-in in Abu Dhabi
Merab Dvalishvili said he gained 19lb in five hours after weighing in for his bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, later posting a video showing the increase. Both Dvalishvili and Russian champion Yan weighed 135lb (9st 9lb) at the official weigh-in.
Dvalishvili, who has won 21 of his 26 professional fights, stepped onto scales in a video that showed him at 154lb (11st 0lb) hours after the weigh-in. The 35-year-old uploaded the footage to Instagram and explained his recovery process in a post-fight-week statement.
"I've been drinking water and in only five hours I gain back 19 pounds, that's what we do, let's go," he said. "Now I'm back drinking and recovering. Now I'm going to start eating. Eat food first, then tomorrow you guys already know who I'm going to eat."
Fighters commonly cut weight by shedding water in the days before a bout and then rehydrate to regain mass before the fight, a process the article notes can provide a physical advantage inside the octagon. The UFC has implemented measures it says are intended to make weight cuts safer, including banning IV drips and establishing the Performance Institute, which the organisation describes as providing guidance for its athletes from professional health experts.
The promotion recommends UFC fighters lose no more than 8% of their body weight during fight week and to remain within 10% of their weight class on fight night. Those guidelines were cited in the piece outlining the context for Dvalishvili's rapid rehydration.
Dvalishvili is aiming to win back the bantamweight title he lost against two-time champion Yan last December; the pair conducted an intense but respectful stare-down at the face-off before the co-main event. Yan was described as the Russian champion at the time of the weigh-in.
In the main event, champion Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev both made weight ahead of their featherweight world title contest; the report noted Volkanovski seeks a record ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights against Evloev, who is listed as undefeated in 20 bouts.
On the undercard, British flyweight Lone'er Kavanagh, 27, was scheduled to face Uzbekistan's Ramazan Temirov, with Kavanagh aiming to recover from a loss to American Brandon Royval in July. The outcome of the co-main event at UFC 333 will determine whether Dvalishvili regains the bantamweight title he lost last December.