Ismael Bonfim collapsed on scale, overhauled diet for UFC return

Ismael Bonfim collapsed on the scale before his last UFC appearance and now says the scare forced him to stop relying on extreme dehydration.

Bonfim faces Axel Sola at lightweight Saturday in Abu Dhabi after an eight-month layoff. In November he missed weight by five pounds for a bout with Chris Padilla, arriving at fight week still carrying 22 pounds and cramping so badly in the sauna that a UFC doctor had to clear him hours before the weigh-in. "I was standing on the scale, before the official weigh-in, and suddenly got a cramp in my neck," Bonfim told MMA Fighting. "I collapsed on the floor and they called the doctor."

Bonfim's weight-cut crisis and lightweight future

The Brazilian said he rehydrated only to 170 pounds for the Padilla fight, ten pounds under his usual cage weight, and mentally checked out in the second round. He and his team initially planned a move to welterweight but reversed course when the UFC offered the Sola matchup at 155. "Moving up to welterweight would've been crazy," Bonfim said, per the report. "I'm already small for lightweight, you know? Going up to 170 would've been the end of my career."

Bonfim said he has capped his walk-around weight at 176 pounds and committed to year-round dieting instead of waiting until a fight is booked. He admitted to eating barbecue every weekend and drinking between camps. "It didn't matter that I trained if I was drinking and eating like crazy every day," he said.

The 30-year-old told MMA Fighting he is no longer chasing a first-round finish and has prepared mentally to fight three full rounds against Sola. The bout takes place Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Ismael Bonfim ‘finally got serious’ with diet after collapsing on scale before UFC fight | MMA Fighting