In a sport built off the concept of two men locked in a cage, beating each other until one of them goes unconscious, it’s a strange thing to say that the most dangerous aspect is likely taking place before either of them ever sets foot on the mat. Weight cutting is MMA’s dirty not-so-secret.
The process that (at least in one of its forms) once killed three collegiate wrestlers in little over a month back in the 90s has become one of the backbones of mixed martial arts over the last 20 years. Fighters routinely compete 20-30 lbs under their day-to-day walking weight, using training camps to slowly lean out, before dropping the last 5-10 lbs (or more) in the last couple days before the fight.