Dricus Du Plessis dismisses weight cut excuse for Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328

Khamzat Chimaev lost a split decision to Sean Strickland at UFC 328. Chimaev appeared drained at weigh-ins, and after the fight Arman Tsarukyan and Artur Tsarukyan said the weight cut affected his performance. Chimaev gassed on a failed takedown in Round 2 but recovered enough to keep the bout competitive, ultimately losing by split decision. Dricus Du Plessis, who previously lost the middleweight belt to Chimaev at UFC 319, dismissed the weight-cut explanation. Du Plessis said the reported 12-pound cut in 24 hours was not significant, noted that weight cuts can cause bad feelings, and argued that blaming a weight cut is equivalent to blaming lack of fitness rather than taking responsibility.

"“I think this whole weight cut excuse is ridiculous, to be honest with you,” Du Plessis said in an interview with Fight Forecast “I think Tsarukyan said he cut 12 pounds in the 24 hours. Those are rookie numbers. Twelve pounds in 24 hours, that's not that bad. [46 pounds] in total, over the camp it doesn't matter. What matters is that last 24 hours and 12 pounds is not that much. I've definitely done more than that.”"

"“Yeah, sometimes I've had bad weight cuts, too. I have. Everybody that cuts weight has had that experience where the next day you feel 'ugh' and you have a bad cut. One kilogram can make the world's difference in a weight cut. I just think using a weight cut as an excuse when it comes to the fight, even if you did have a bad weight cut, it's fine. It's happened to all of us, but you don't Go Go out and say, 'I lost the fight because of that.'”"

"“No. If you want to change weight divisions, change weight divisions, but blaming a bad weight cut is like saying, 'I lost the fight because I wasn't fit.' It's on you. Be more disciplined. Be more disciplined then and the weight cut will be easier. Any excuse, for me, when you get into the octagon, there is no excuse.”"

"Chimaev looked drained at weigh-ins ahead of the bout, and after the loss, both Arman Tsarukyan and his brother, Artur, claimed that the Chechen fighter's performance was affected by the cut. “Borz” appeared to gas out significantly on a failed takedown in Round 2, though he recovered to make the fight compeitive in what was ultimately a split-decision defeat."

Read at Sherdog