Anthony Johnson misses weight again, time for a 3 strike rule.
With Anthony Johnson missing weight for the second time in his UFC career there has been a lot of discussion as what the proper actions should be to punish such behavior. I’ll agree that Dana White has a good start with DQ’ing Johnson from winning any of the bonus prize money at UFC 104. Given his knockout of Yoshida it is fair to say that his 6 pound weight push cost him $60,000. That’s $10,000 per pound. Pretty pricey. However, I also don’t think that just DQ’ing the fighters who don’t make weight from titles or prizes is good enough. In my opinion there should be another safe guard in place to prevent fighters from thinking they can get away with missing weight. So what’s the idea? Simple, a 3 strike rule.
Before I go into the rule, allow me to explain why missing weight is the big deal that it is. When it comes to weight classes in the UFC, bigger is better. It is just that simple. If you are a 6′ 2″ fighter with a nice long reach, then why bother fighting in middleweights where everyone is the same when you can get down to welterweight and fight against fighters who average in at a height of 5′ 10″. It’s a little funny in the sense that it’s like a school yard bully. They won’t pick on anyone their own size. However, dropping down into a weight class is a valid strategy and when done properly I have no qualms. However, if a fighter consistently misses the mark then it’s not fair to the fighters in that division. It’s obvious that the body structure of Johnson is more fit for a middleweight and if his body physically has a hard time getting to 171, then fighters believe his rightful place is at middleweight and that he will just have to deal with fighters his own size, making it more difficult for Johnson.
So how would the 3 strike rule work? Simple, if you miss weight for a specific division 3 times, you are banned from that division for a set amount of time given by the UFC. It could be forever or it could be for a few matches. I would recommend permanent ban because after 3 misses it would be fair to say that your body is not fit for that weight class. This rule would help do a couple things. One, it keeps fighters honest about their weights. The rule would make sure that fighters think from the very start of their careers what divisions they can safely make. Two it would protect the fighters in the lower divisions. MMA is hard enough without having to take on someone who clearly has an unfair size advantage against you. If you have a size advantage and can make weight, good for you. If you can’t, then that should be a signal as to what your rightful place in the weight classes is.
Anthony Johnson of course could very well be the exception not the rule. However, I do think that with him missing weight again it helps bring the issue to the forefront of the UFC. It’s time to stop treating making weight as just a form of proper etiquette between fighters and start treating it like the rule that it is.
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