Tibau Coach Reveals Secrets Behind Biggest Weight Cut in MMA

UFC 155 pound fighter, Gleison Tibau continually goes through one of the biggest weight cuts in the sport today.

According to reports, the lightweight fighter walks around at 190 pounds and usually re-gains around 30 pounds after his weigh-ins so he walks into the cage around 185 pounds.

That’s a big lightweight.

His coach, the man responsible for the massive undertaking in weight fluctuation, recently told MMAFighting.com how they do it.

“During the fight week, he works on the technical part with striking coach Luciano ‘Macarrao’ and jiu-jitsu coach Marcos da Matta, but also maintenance the aerobic workouts to help weight loss together with a dietary restriction of solid foods and an increase in fluid intake ranging from six to eight liters per day (distilled water) — or water with zero percent sodium — for a period of two days after gradually reducing the water,” Dias said. “This causes the body to eliminate more water and not retain anything in the moments prior to weighing.”

“After this brief recovery, he eats light food which is quickly absorbed, like bananas, grapes, fruit salad, as well as Vitamin Water or Gatorade,” Dias says. “The weigh-in usually occurs late into the night and the athlete is already semi-recovered. We continue with the intake of low-fat foods that are rich in carbohydrates every two hours, and also make shakes with added glutamine, dextrose, maltodextrin and vitamins to obtain a super compensation carbohydrate and assist in performance the athlete. We also add calcium pills, potassium and magnesium due to dehydration to avoid cramps on fight time.”