The UFC's choice to have USADA head up their anti-doping program has yielded several changes, but the one that's being felt the most by the roster currently, is the IV re-hydration ban. Now that it's become official, fighters are looking to weight management specialists to handle their cuts and reloads.

The drawback to having a professional manage a weight cut is cost. For athletes that are outside the top earners tier, that expense can take quite a toll on a modest fight purse, making it difficult or even impossible for some to afford. Even someone of B.J. Penn's means still found the cost of one specialist to be exorbitant.

There are some that don't have that financial burden, though. Recently, Kelvin Gastelum had his weight cut and reload handled by George Lockhart...on the UFC's dime. At a time when fighters are really counting their pennies, especially since the Reebok deal has also severely limited earning potential, the UFC hiring someone like Lockhart to handle weight cuts and reloads should be an option worth exploring for the entire roster.

In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, UFC bantamweight rising star, Aljamain Sterling gave his take on the issue, and offered up his own solutions.

TAP: The UFC chose to cover the expenses of Kelvin Gastelum's own weight cutting specialist, George Lockhart. Do you think they need to apply this same measure across the board to the entire roster, at least until everyone gets their weight cutting to a manageable point?

From that standpoint, it can get a little sticky, and that's a really grey area for me, but I think if you're gonna do it, you've got to be fair across the board and help everybody out. -Aljamain Sterling on the need for the UFC to treat all fighters equally when hiring weight management teams

Sterling: I think that's fair. They at least need to do that for those high profile marquee match-ups, like when Gastelum was going to fight Matt Brown. Matt called it out, too. He said it seemed a little biased that they're covering Gastelum's weight management specialist, but not his. From that standpoint, it can get a little sticky, and that's a really grey area for me, but I think if you're gonna do it, you've got to be fair across the board and help everybody out.

I think they need to start doing cageside weigh-ins again. I think that's the best way to go if you really want to see some difference. Cageside weigh-ins; I guarantee you won't see people cutting more than five to eight pounds, and they'll be fighting closer to their natural weight class.

There is a lot more of this great interview right here or via the embedded player below. Sterling's interview starts at the 58:25 mark of the audio. Aljamain faces Johnny Eduardo this coming Thursday night on the Fight Pass prelims of the UFC Las Vegas: VanZant vs. Namajunas card. As always, keep your browser locked on Blood Elbow for up-to-the-minute fight week coverage.