Two years ago today, a change occurred within the MMA world that has caused a ripple effect through multiple layers of the sport.

Ahead of UFC 199, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., the first “early weigh-in” was implemented and overseen by the California State Athletic Commission.

After years of weigh-ins taking place in the mid-afternoon, a change was put in place for the scales to open from 9-11 a.m. local time. The idea was fighters would be afforded more time for re-hydration between officially weighing in and entering the octagon for competition. On the surface, that seemed great.

The results, however, have been somewhat unexpected. With nearly an identical amount of fight cards and bouts having taken place within the past two years since UFC 199, a noticeable uptick in weigh-in gaffes has happened.

As the issues around weigh-ins have become more prevalent and a bigger narrative, all sorts of opinions and theories have emerged. A perfect solution still appears to be elusive, but given the data, it’s difficult to defend the current system.

On this two-year anniversary of the first early weigh-in, check out some information on how UFC weigh-in results differ from two years before and two years since the new system was put in place.

PREVIOUS WEIGH-IN SYSTEM: June 6, 2014 to May 30, 2016

NEW WEIGH-IN SYSTEM: June 3, 2016 to May 31, 2018

In this time period, 83 total events occurred with 950 fights. 32 fighters missed weight. Of the 32 to miss, five didn’t enter the octagon for their respective bouts due to various reasons. The 27 who did fight tallied a record of 12-15. The featherweight division saw the most fighters miss weight, with seven coming in over the limit. The lightweight division trailed just behind with six weigh-in misses. No fighters missed weight at heavyweight or light heavyweight, and there was just one miss at middleweight. The average weigh-in miss was 2.97 pounds. Kelvin Gastelum had the biggest weigh-in miss, coming in nine pounds over the scheduled welterweight limit at UFC 183.In this time period, 82 total events occurred with 962 fights. 62 fighters missed weight. Of the 62 to miss, 15 didn’t enter the octagon for their respective bouts due to various reasons. The 47 who did fight tallied a total record of 27-20. The lightweight division saw the most fighters miss weight, with seven coming in over the limit. The featherweight and women’s strawweight divisions trailed just behind with six weigh-in misses each. No fighters missed weight at heavyweight, but every other weight class experienced no fewer than two total misses. The average weigh-in miss was 2.90 pounds. Charles Oliveira had the biggest weigh-in miss, coming in nine pounds over the scheduled featherweight limit at UFC Fight Night 98.

The theories behind the growing rate of fighters missing weight range from the athletes’ lack of discipline, to a failure to adjust the weight-cutting schedule to account for less time, to a shorter fight week schedule, to a need for more divisions, and more.

MMA is still a growing and evolving sport with many problems – few of which have an easy fix. The numbers prove the early weigh-in system has not made it easier on fighters to hit their contracted limits, and unless there’s another radical change on the horizon, it’s a topic that won’t go away anytime soon.

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