Ilir ‘The Sledgehammer’ Latifi currently fights in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, which currently has a 206-pound weight limit, but the Swedish mixed martial artist typically walks around at a whopping 230-240 pounds. He doesn’t believe in cutting a lot of weight doesn’t help him inside the cage.
Athletic Commissions across the country have tried to combat steep weight cuts by enacting early weigh ins, banning the use of IVs to rehydrate, and some have even threatened to pull fighters from competition if they came into fight week too heavy.
According to Latifi, cutting too much weight affects the performance of athletes.
“I often get the question why I don’t fight in 185, and that I should try to drop,” Latifi said on Instagram. He continued:
“The answer is that I’ve never believed in cutting a lot (of) weight because it affects your performance too much, I believe in being as fit as possible, having a good diet and competing in your natural weight class…In the last couple of years we have seen fighters move up weight classes and performing better than ever.”
Latifi currently holds a 5-3 record inside the UFC’s light heavyweight division and is currently ranked #11 in the world in the weight class. Ilir’s been out of action since suffering a KO loss to Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 93, but noted that he’s been thinking regularly about competing in the heavyweight division.
“…you never know if you see me there one day in the future… I would definitely like to fight against Brock Lesnar, if he’s still around.”
Even though Brock Lesnar is currently serving his one-year USADA suspension, do you believe ‘the Conqueror’ ever squares up with ‘The Sledgehammer?’ inside the octagon?
Ilir Latifi’s full Instagram post:
