Cut it out Diego Sanchez

That's what Diego Sanchez looked like in the welterweight division (170 lbs). On Saturday, he will make what I think is a dangerous cut to the lightweight division (155 lbs).

Before every match, fighters undergo one of the most impressive and insane rituals in all of sports.

A 200-plus pound man will cut weight until he weighs in at a slender 185 pounds. A fighter who walks around at 170 pounds will get down to 155 for a fight. Cutting weight is a necessary process for a fighter that wants to be champion and it is also an impressive display of discipline and athleticism.

But like all things, too much of anything is a bad thing, which brings me to Diego Sanchez.

Sanchez, who is set to headline Saturday's UFC event against Joe Stevenson, will be making his lightweight debut. When Sanchez first entered the UFC he fought at middleweight.

Let me put that into perspective. Sanchez's weight during his first fight: 185 pounds. Sanchez's weight during Saturday's fight: 155 pounds.

Yes, that is a 30 pound difference.

That is an absolutely mind boggling difference, but in Sanchez's defense, he was out of his natural weight at 185. I would say Diego would walk around at about 180 to 185 pounds, meaning the cut to 170, which is the welterweight division, would be where he should be.

His cut to welterweight was tough enough, but it also allowed him to fight at his peak athletic performance. Just as fighting at a weight that is too heavy for a competitor is a disadvantage, so to is fighting at a weight that threatens conditioning and strength.

Sanchez has already stated that the cut to 155 has been a struggle, but that he enjoys the challenge. And while it's great he enjoys a challenge, it could also hurt him in the cage, especially against someone as good as Stevenson.

By cutting so much weight, he is going to struggle with his conditioning and stamina as well as with his strength. With all the work he must have to do and with all the nutrition and water he must have to sacrifice, he will be exhausted by just walking to the cage. In fact, Sanchez said he has been eating slightly over 1,000 calories per day for the last few weeks.

For a strong, explosive athlete, that might as well be starvation. Michael Phelps eats something like 10,000 calories, so Sanchez is really having to push himself.

I understand cutting weight is part of the sport. I think the best fighters should cut between 10 to 15 pounds for a fight. Any more than that and it gets dangerous. Very dangerous.

Cutting weight is much different than losing weight. When someone cuts weight, they lose mostly water weight. The dehydration makes a significant difference in weight and it is easier to take the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the fight to rehydrate and put on some extra weight before fighting.

Clearly dehydrating is not very safe. If you have ever seen UFC welterweight Anthony Johnson fight, you can get an idea of what a fighter looks like after cutting a lot of weight. He comes down about 20 pounds to make 170 and every muscle on his body is extremely defined because of the lack of water.

It's a dangerous practice when cutting weight is taken to the extreme. While Congress is worried about its beloved baseball players taking steroids and getting bigger, there are other athletes doing the exact opposite though the consequences can be just as dire.

I don't think athletes should stop cutting weight, I just think there should be limits. I hope Sanchez realizes after Saturday that the welterweight division is where he belongs. If he decides to stay at lightweight, then I hope he LOSES weight in between fights instead of just cutting weight.

It's a dangerous aspect of the sport and trainers and the fighting community cannot forget to monitor the weight cutting that fighters do. Anyone who thinks extreme weight cutting isn't as serious or more serious than steroids just has to look at a great documentary HBO did on jockeys in horse races. It has ruined lives.