Here’s another trend rampant in many sports that I’m also surprised you don’t see more deaths from.
Mixed martial artist Leandro “Feijao” Souza died on Thursday just hours before a weigh-in for the “Shooto Brazil 43” fight card, apparently due to complications from “cutting weight.”
…Souza, a flyweight, reportedly passed out in front of Shooto officials just moments before his official weigh-in for Shooto Brazil 43, MMAFighting.com reports. While officials have yet to ascertain the exact cause of Souza’s death, his attempts at rapid weight loss are believed to have played a major role.
This practice is common with fighters who fight in a certain weight class, and stand a benefit weighing light for the weigh-in then recovering for the fight. Horse Racing jockey cut weight before a race so they can race lighter.
Where does this weight go? Up into the air! They don’t eat and drink, because that would add weight, and they work hard in hot conditions, often with insulating garments to sweat as much water out of their systems as possible. Often the weight they cut is VERY high, which is NOT good for your body.
Scary and sad, but not a “Gun Death”.
H/T Mike
A friend of mine way back in high school used to do this for wrestling. The practice was completely condoned, and even encouraged, by the wrestling coach.
I had no idea that what he was doing was all THAT dangerous (he didn’t die or anything).
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Its all a question of scale. Dropping a few pounds this way really isn’t all that bad for you (tho I’d argue it isn’t GOOD for you either), but the more you scale it up, the more risk there is.