Arkansas is leading the charge against dangerous, drastic weight cutting.

The Arkansas State Athletic Commission (ASAC) temporarily passed a new regulation two weeks ago that intends to temper the practice of extreme weight cutting among amateur MMA fighters and boxers. Starting from Aug. 19, competitors are no longer able to gain more than 7.5 percent of their body weight back from the day of weigh-ins to the day of the fight. Also, a fighter cannot weigh more than one weight class above him or her the day of the fight.

ASAC chair Lydia Robertson told MMAFighting.com that there were no immediate plans to implement the same rules for pro fighters at this time. Arkansas is the first state athletic commission to pass regulations of any kind on weight-cutting restrictions.

"Our hope is that by catching fighters early in their career that we will be able to provide guidance and education, so that they won't undertake the very dangerous weigh-cutting practices that have led to so many deaths," Robertson said.

Under the new rule, a fighter will weigh-in the day before the fight as usual and there will be second weigh-in the day of the fight. At the second weigh-in, if an athlete weighs more than 7.5 percent of his or her body weight from the previous day or more than the next weight class up, the bout will be called off.

The rule was passed unanimously in an emergency hearing before the executive subcommittee of the Arkansas legislature two weeks ago. At a pro-am MMA event three days earlier, six fighters were transported to the hospital and Robertson said four of them were "directly related" to dehydration.

Currently, the regulation is only temporary. It will be in effect for up to 120 days until there is a public rules hearing where individual citizens can speak to the commission about concerns regarding the new proposal. After that, the commission will weigh public opinion against medical evidence and make a permanent decision.

The new rule comes after a 60-day study done by ASAC, which began in January. Fighters weighed in twice -- once the day before and once the day of their fights -- and ASAC found that 45 percent of them gained 15 percent or more of their body weight back. The Association of Ringside Physicians recommends that a fighter not gain back more than 5 percent of his or her body weight.

One major risk associated with these guidelines is the possibility of a fighter still going through with a hard weight cut and then not rehydrating enough after weigh-ins for the fight. Robertson said that is where her medical staff comes in.

"Many times a blind person can tell if a person is dehydrated," Robertson said. "A good ringside physician should not miss that. That's our hope."

Starting Jan. 1, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) will be implementing its own new weight rules, also for amateurs. CSAC will test fighters for their minimum healthy weight annually and a fighter will not be allowed to compete at a weight class lower than that. This is the same practice NCAA wrestling has been using for nearly two decades.

In the years to come, CSAC executive officer Andy Foster expects to have the same rules for pro fighters and he believes other commissions will eventually follow suit.

Foster calls drastic weight-cutting the biggest problem in MMA today. Studies have shown that brain fluids do not rehydrate as quickly as fluids in the body do, leaving fighters more susceptible to traumatic brain injury following major losses of weight.

"You have a traumatic event with the massive dehydration," Foster said. "Then you have another event with the rapid rehydration. Your brain barrier is not totally restored. Then you have a fight, which is yet another event. We do these three things and we expect a positive outcome."

The UFC's new anti-doping program run by USADA prohibits the use of IVs to rehydrate, which Foster believes is a slippery slope. He agrees that fighters should not be able to use IVs, but is not sure implementing the ban in October is enough notice for fighters.

"If you need an IV to rehydrate, you may be in the wrong weight class," Foster said. "I think that's a fair statement. At the same time, let's not sit around and blame fighters. The main thing is the health and safety of these athletes. That's the main thing. We have to really think of this IV ban. I'm supportive of it in principle. But these guys are doing this so long, we have to be really careful and thoughtful.

"I myself would rather the athlete be hydrated properly than for us to say 'you can't do it' and somebody gets hurt."

In the next few years, there could be a myriad of changes from regulatory and practical standpoints with regards to weight cutting. This could just be the start.

"Somebody had to be first, right?" Robertson said. "If it's for the safety of the fighters, I'll always be proud of the commission for their vote."