Mirko Cro Cop criticizes weight cutting as MMA’s ‘biggest scam’ after Conor McGregor’s double-title win

It is safe to say that Mirko Cro Cop wants fighters to compete at their natural weights.

Weight cutting continues to be one of the biggest topics in the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole.

Fighters rarely compete anywhere near their walk-around weights, instead undergoing brutal and dangerous cuts ahead of their matchups to gain an advantage on fight night.

One man who used weight cutting to achieve success is Conor McGregor, who looked virtually unrecognizable on the scale as a featherweight, the division in which he won his first UFC title.

Mirko Cro Cop uses Conor McGregor to explain why weight cutting is a ‘scam’

McGregor knocked out Aldo at UFC 194, connecting with a punch that put the Brazilian to sleep in just 13 seconds.

The Irishman boasted a significant size advantage over Aldo and unsurprisingly did not compete at 145 pounds again after winning the belt.

Instead, he debuted at welterweight before later winning the lightweight gold and becoming the first-ever simultaneous double champion.

But Mirko Cro Cop seems to think that is a hollow achievement given what he did to secure it.

“Nowadays, the biggest scam in MMA is weight cutting. That’s the biggest scam in combat sports,” Cro Cop said during a 2023 interview on the Index Video YouTube channel.

“People need this explained because they don’t understand, being in a clinch with someone your own weight, five kilos lighter or 10 kilos heavier, that’s a night and day difference.

“The rules are crazy…and then you see double champions,” he continued. “Double champions of what? For example, Conor McGregor. He weighs around 83-84 kilos…when he had the fight with Jose Aldo, he had 66 kilos on the scale and made the weight, but in the fight he had 78 kilos in the 66-kilo weight class.

“Then he goes for a challenge, weighing over 80 kilos… He will go for the 70-kilo belt. Wait a second, while having 84 kilos?

“Okay buddy, now fight at middleweight and win the belt there. You want to be a double champion? A legend? Then move up to light heavyweight and prove how tough you are.”