UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith had a hard time getting down to 205 pounds for UFC 277, but that paled in comparison to his struggles at middleweight. On The MMA Hour, Smith revealed how hard it was on his body to make 185 pounds, risking unconsciousness and even death.
“If the cuts to ‘85 back in the day were a 10, I would say I was at a six. The cuts to ‘85 were a 10. There were several times when I was cutting to ‘85 that I wasn’t sure I was going to live. It was bad.
Anthony Smith Recalls Brutal Reality of Weight Cuts: “I wasn’t sure I was going to live”
I used to have to kneel in the back behind the curtain for a long time, and then I’d have to hurry up and stand. Like, if they had the little weird [manual] scale, they would have to put it exactly where I said that I was on the check scale, because if I had to stand there any longer and let them f*** around with it for too long, I’d pass out.
So they would say, ‘What does he think he’s at?’ and I’d tell them I’m right on 186, on the dot. Then I’d kneel, and I’d have to kneel with my head up, and as soon as I stood my coaches would get me up, I’d stand on the scale, and that’s why I was rushed to the back, because I wasn’t going to be conscious much longer. Like, I couldn’t even walk from my hotel to the scale.
If it was a five minute walk, it would take me 15 minutes because every five steps or so I’d have to kneel because I was trying to stay conscious.”
Smith continued, citing his quest to add extra muscle as the cause for his cutting issues ahead of the Ankalaev fight at UFC 277.
“It wasn’t as bad as cutting to 185, but it was a tough one. I put a lot of focus in the last year of just trying to put on some size and strength and physically be able to go with these guys in the top five, which I was able to do and I felt really good. The flip side of that is the weight cut that comes with that.
Super lean. I think I checked in at just above 230 on Tuesday. And I think I just miscalculated it a little bit. It just didn’t come off as fast as I expected it to during the week. So I had a good chunk to do Thursday night, Friday morning.”
