Commission wants Darren Till’s corner suspended over grisly weight cut — ‘They’re going to get him killed’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender, Darren Till, missed weight for his UFC Liverpool main event last Sunday on FOX Sports 1, which on its own is pretty disappointing, particularly for opponent Stephen Thompson.

But I think most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans will settle for “disappointing” when the situation could have proved fatal, after video was released of Till’s brutal weight cut, one that resulted in dehydration to the point of blindness (watch the replay here).

Now, the head of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), Mike Mazzulli, is calling for the suspension of those charged with protecting the fighter’s health and safety, something they clearly failed to do leading up to fight night (and they aren’t the only ones).

“They should suspend those corner people that tried to help him cut that kind of weight, first of all,” Mazzulli told MMA Junkie. “They think it’s okay to do what they did to that kid? They’re going to get him killed. Right now, I am so upset at this whole industry.”

It should be noted that UFC Liverpool was held in England, where the promotion acts as its own regulatory body, far away from the prying eyes of stateside athletic commissions. That’s how stuff like this happens.

Extreme weight cutting has come under scrutiny over the past few years, which is not surprising when you consider that fighters continue to die from dehydration. Proponents argue it’s not the process of cutting weight that is dangerous, but rather the way it’s grotesquely mishandled by unqualified trainers.

And just about everyone else.