I found out yesterday that my fight’s off. Jessica Aguilar is out with an injury, and there’s no chance of getting a replacement at this notice.
I was all ready to fly to Florida when I got the news. I’m gutted, and pissed off. Not with anyone in particular, just with the situation. My life has been chaos for the last four weeks as I’ve pushed everything else to one side and put all my time and energy into getting ready for the fight in the time we’d been given. Everything had just come together… and then I get this news.
With that said, though, I think Aguilar missed a great opportunity. With the short time span, and some less than ideal conditions, my preparation’s been pretty rocky in places. What’s more, in agreeing to the fight in the first place I broke one of the golden rules. I signed a fight at a weight I’ve not made before. (Sure, I’ve weighed 120 lbs in the past – but not since 2001.)
“Weight cutting” for MMA is an art in itself. Most fighters weigh in lighter than they are when they fight the next day. The process of getting down to the weigh-in weight, and then recovering so that you’re fit to fight the next day is both technically and physically challenging. There’s always the possibility of it going wrong. It’s rare that it goes badly wrong (although very occasionally it does), but it’s common for it to go wrong to the point where it affects performance. And in any sport that involves getting punched in the face, that’s not a nice place to be. There’s that awful feeling when you start warming up, and you realize that something’s not right but it’s too late to do anything about it. You’re feeling weak, breathing too fast, endurance shot – but you’ve still got to go out there and fight.
That’s why fighters should always always ALWAYS do a test weight cut. It doesn’t matter how much someone else can cut, or whether you’re using a plan that’s been carved on tablets of stone by the weight cutting god himself. You need to test it first, as many times as you need to in order to know that you can do it and be in shape to fight the next day.
Well, I didn’t. When we got the call, it was too good an opportunity to say no, but four weeks preparation didn’t leave enough time for a practice weight cut. So at the back of my mind, I knew there was a possibility this was all going to go horribly wrong.
Which is why fight or no fight, I now have to finish this godamn weight cut. Much as I’d like to go out and eat a fried breakfast this morning followed by waffles with chocolate sauce and three tubs of ice cream, I need to know that I can make that weight for next time. When the fight gets rescheduled, there won’t be any guesswork.
I wish Jessica all the best for a speedy recovery!
Despite your constructive outlook and plan, what a bummer. Really too bad they couldn’t find an alternate opponent! Hang in there and get through the cut.
Unlucky with the fight, hopefully Bellator can get you another fight quickly, seeing that they have Events every week.
Can’t wait to see you fight at around 120 – 125lbs, I think that’ll be the perfect weight for you.
This is really unfortunate. I was really looking forward to seeing this fight, though likely not as much as you were looking forward to fighting. I wish you both the best and hope to see you fighting soon.
That SUCKS so much….I feel for you.
Awww Rosi that sucks. I can just imagine the adrenaline, excitement, and looking forward to the fight only to be disappointed like that. I hope you get another fight soon. Maybe Dana White will get off his ass and get you ladies on some WEC or UFC shows. But yeah…look forward to seeing you fight again.