Did Conor McGregor expose why extreme weight cuts should be a thing of the past?

Why did Conor McGregor opt to fight Cowboy Cerrone at 170 pounds?

Weight cutting has been a hot topic for debate in mixed martial arts over the past couple of years. Though there are still plenty of fighters trying to make the cut to move down, there are more fighters than ever opting to do the opposite and go up in weight, where there is less stress put on the body immediately before a fight.

Conor McGregor defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 on Jan. 18. Though both men had been fighting most recently at lightweight, McGregor suggest and Cowboy agreed to fight at welterweight so that neither of them would have to endure a hard weight cut prior to their main event.

That strategy worked well for McGregor. He took Cerrone out in just 40 seconds.

McGregor said at the UFC 246 post-fight press conference that he felt as good as ever in the Octagon that night, which he credits partially to being on-point with his weight and actually being able to “eat up” to make 170 pounds.

But he also discussed past mistakes he’s made, such as nearly blacking out while cutting weight for a fight with Chad Mendes in 2015, a fight in which he won the interim UFC featherweight championship.

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