Every time weigh in day comes around, fans know that fights are going to be on the chopping block. The common practices of extreme dehydration and fasting that fighters use to ensure that they’re ‘on weight’ for their bouts are fraught with potential dangers.
The body’s ability to stand up under that kind of duress is easily compromised. The immune system weakens, strength drains; fighters often step on the scale as an emaciated shell of themselves only to spend the next 24 hours reinvigorating their bodies back to something resembling a healthy norm. If any little thing goes wrong in the process, the chances of failure are high.