Cris "Cyborg" Santos' failure to make weight at this past weekend's Strikeforce event made her an easy target of criticism.
That criticism heightened when she pointed to a "girl problem" as the reason she weighed in heavy. Quite simply, some fans didn't buy it.
In his latest "Ask the Doc" column, MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin delves into the subject to determine whether or not factors such as menstruation makes weight cutting more difficult for female fighters.
Dr. Benjamin: Hope you are well. I enjoy reading your "Ask the Doc" columns. I'm watching the Strikeforce event right now, and a question popped into my head. Both Gina Carano and Cris "Cyborg" have had issues making weight. So, my question: Is it harder for women to make weight? I know, in general, that women may have a harder time losing weight (we have to deal with hormones, etc.). Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to your answer. Thanks, Beth T.
Beth, thank you for the excellent question, and I'm glad that you enjoy the column! This is a very interesting question on multiple levels.
Gina Carano vs. Cris "Cyborg" Santos is a fight that we all want to see. The outcome may have an interesting effect on the future of women's MMA (WMMA). Gina Carano (like it or not) is the current and seemingly only marketable face of WMMA.
A similar situation played out in women's professional boxing several years ago. At that time, women's boxing had a shallow talent pool. The singular face of ladies' boxing was the beautiful Laila Ali. Her rugged counterpart was a vicious and extremely talented challenger named Ann Wolfe. That was the contest any and everyone with an interest in ladies' boxing wanted to see.
The fight never happened.
Ali retired, got married and started a beautiful family (congrats on your beautiful baby boy!). Women's boxing lost its marketable face and has struggled mightily since.
If Carano wins, where does she go from there? Who is the next challenger for the throne? The current talent pool in WMMA is not that deep.
If "Cyborg" wins, where does WMMA go from there? Apparently Santos does not have the same level of sex appeal and potential marketability as Carano (also, "Cyborg" does not speak English, which never helps in the U.S. market). Therefore, will WMMA lose momentum and eventually relevance?
How will all this play out? I have no idea, but I am eager to find out!
Anyway, thank you for your patience.
As I have written before, I am no fan of weight cutting. It is unhealthy, dangerous and potentially deadly, especially so in kids and teens. (I understand/read that a recent episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series displayed a fairly graphic yet mild representation of weight cutting gone wrong.)
Beth, as you have observed, women seem to have a more difficult time "making weight" than their male counterparts. I believe that there exists at least two major reasons for this: First and foremost, female hormonal regulation of weight. And secondly, plain old practice.
I'll deal with the easier one first: practice. Many women lack vast experience at significant weight cutting. Unlike their male counterparts, many, if not most, elite level male MMA participants grew up involved in weight-restricted combat sports (i.e. wrestling and/or amateur boxing). For the men that don't come from this traditional background, every serious training facility is full of guys who have mastered the alchemy of rapid, significant weight cutting. Therefore, it is much easier for male MMA fighters to get the instruction that they desire. Obviously, when men teach men weight cutting techniques, they do not need to be concerned with the primary issue: gender-related hormonal issues.
In a physiological sense, the female body was created primarily to bear and sustain life (child birth), not to battle. Female physiology produces hormones that promote reproduction and appear to have a deleterious effect on aggressive and/or explosive physical performance. (Review of the literature reveals limited medical research to provide definitive answers to this specific topic.)
The rhythmic levels of estrogen and progesterone that regulate the menstrual cycle cause fluctuations in weight primarily via fluid retention. Also the effects of oral-contraceptive use can lead to further weight gain. For these reasons (and others), simple exercise-related weight-cutting techniques ("sweating it off") commonly employed by men due not produce the same magnitude of effect in women.
Also, fat reduction in women is difficult since a certain percentage of fat is necessary for normal ovarian hormonal production. Women that fall below a certain fat percentage will temporarily lose their menstrual cycle, which is a condition commonly seen in elite female endurance athletes and gymnasts. Physiologically the female body will not give up the ability to reproduce without a serious fight. So as a female MMA athlete is attempting to cut weight to make her number, her body is fighting against her (not to mention the lost training days, and strength and stamina associated with routine menstrual blood loss).
I was disappointed in the Showtime commentators for their harsh criticism of "Cyborg" Santos for missing weight. I don't think that she was doing movies and magazine photo shoots instead of training. And I certainly did not see her with a lack of respect for her opponent or the sport. I just think that her weight to some degree was out of her reasonable control.
Due to the timing of the fight, her hormones and physiology did not sign off on that contracted weight limit.
