Ismael Bonfim recalls 22-pound weight cut disaster before UFC loss

Ismael Bonfim entered fight week 22 pounds over the lightweight limit before his November bout with Chris Padilla, a miscalculation that left him visibly depleted at weigh-ins and ended in a second-round stoppage loss.

The Brazilian lightweight came to the scale at 161 pounds — five over the non-title limit — after relying almost entirely on dehydration rather than gradual weight management, he told MMA Fighting. His body started cramping after just 30 seconds in the sauna, with spasms spreading to his neck in a way he had never experienced.

Bonfim vows stricter weight management for Abu Dhabi return

"I relied too much on dehydration," Bonfim said, per the MMA Fighting interview. "I got to fight week still needing to lose 22 pounds. I would stay in the sauna for 30 seconds, and my body would already start cramping. I was getting cramps I'd never felt in my life, like cramps in my neck. That's when we decided to stop the weight cut."

Bonfim, who dropped to 20-6 with the loss, has since overhauled his approach and now caps his out-of-camp weight at 176 pounds. He dismissed the idea of moving to welterweight, saying the jump would end his career given his frame. Sherdog reports the 30-year-old faces Axel Sola at UFC Abu Dhabi as he looks to snap a two-fight skid.

Sola enters off his own setback, a decision loss to Mason Jones in March.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Ismael Bonfim recalls extreme UFC weight cut that went wrong