Chael Sonnen Calls For Ban Kids Weight Cutting
In one of his latest videos, Chael Sonnen vehemently came out against the practice of children cutting weight for youth wrestling competitions. Drawing from his own experiences as a wrestler and coach, Sonnen frames weight cutting as a dangerous, archaic ritual that prioritizes short-term victory over long-term health, branding it “child abuse.”
Sonnen opens with a personal anecdote from his youth, recalling how he and his peers would endure extreme dehydration tactics—like sitting in saunas wrapped in trash bags or running in rubber suits—to shed pounds.
He vividly describes the physical toll: dizziness, organ strain, and near-collapse, emphasizing that these methods, while common in the 1980s, are now medically discredited. “We thought it was tough; it was stupid,” Chael Sonnen declares, highlighting how such practices led to hospitalizations and lifelong health issues among his contemporaries.
Sonnen argues that kids, whose bodies are still developing, face amplified risks—electrolyte imbalances, kidney damage, and stunted growth—that no trophy justifies. He also directly puts the blame on wrestling parents encouraging their kids to cut weight.
“I very seldomly run into a kid that’s got a really stupid idea. It’s generally always the parents and 99% of the time it’s the dads.
The way to win a wrestling match isn’t to weigh more than the other guy or to have sacrificed or to cut more weight.
The way to win a wrestling match is very clear and it’s even identified on page three of the rule book.
Have more points than your opponent when time runs out.
That’s how you win a match. There is no other way.
It’s a very strange concept to want to build a big tough machine while making it smaller.”- Chael Sonnen.
“The Bad Guy” Chael Sonnen is 100% on the mark with his stance against kids cutting weight in wrestling. There is no place for this practice and can have potentially deadly consequences.
Let the kids have fun and develop their skills, while not encouraging them to cut weight for the allusion of an advantage.
Watch Chael Sonnen’s full video below
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.