LUKE Barnatt insists he can make weight despite still being an alarming 14 pounds off the middleweight limit his fight against Mark Muñoz in UFC: Fight Night Manila on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The English mixed martial artist is currently walking at 200 pounds, well over the 185-pound limit, although he can tip the scales at 186 as he’s not in a title fight.
Either way, he is facing a fine if he fails to pass his weight test on Friday, forcing him to lose all that weight in just one day.
“(Fourteen pounds) is nothing,” Barnatt stressed on Thursday. “I usually cut twenty, twenty-two pounds, so I’m not even worried about my weight cut.”
The 6-foot-6 Barnatt, who looked a head taller than the six-foot Muñoz during their stare-down after the media availability, did admit having a tough time making weight in past fights.
“I’m tallest middleweight in the world, so I have trouble making weight,” he admitted.
“But because this fight is in the Philippines and it’s far away, the travel, and all that stuff, the fact is I kept my weight really low during training and I’m the lightest I’ve ever been (before a fight),” he was quick to add.
[See Barnatt to draw energy from boos in UFC fight against Mark Miunoz]
Barnatt even said he’s been eating “carbs, rice, potatoes, and whatever I want” in a diet composed of three meals per day, “which is probably why I’m still happy at the moment.”
“Usually, I’m pretty starved, tired, and grumpy during my weight cut, but now I’m fine and I’m ready to go,” he said.
“I’ll be one eighty-six on the dot (during the weigh-in,” Barnatt assured.
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