“I saw death”, William Gomis looks back on his fight canceled for medical reasons

French MMA fighter William Gomis, whose fight scheduled for Friday at the UFC was canceled for medical reasons linked to his “cutting” to lose weight, returned on Saturday to the ordeal he experienced and recounted having “saw death”.

Gomis was scheduled to face Brazilian Jean Silva on Saturday on the UFC 301 card but his match was canceled After the Frenchman’s weigh-in. The 26-year-old fighter nicknamed the “Jaguar” appeared in a worrying state, staggering, staring into space and even having difficulty getting on and off the scale. The chilling images caused a lot of reaction on social networks.

On Saturday, Gomis first wanted to reassure his fans: “As you can see, it feels much better. Thank you for all the messages I receive, it’s incredible”he said in a video posted on Instagram.

He then returned to his “cutting”the sometimes extreme weight loss phase that fighters must endure before a fight.

“I had a big problem during my cutting which was only 2 kilos. I’ve already done a lot more, 2 kilos isn’t much. But I had a stomach ache, (…) and it went wrong”he said, explaining that he drank tap water in Brazil. “When they tried to rehydrate me, I started to vomit, my body no longer accepted water.”

“After my cutting, I was at weight, and then I vomited four times in a row. I had no more water in my body but I was vomiting puddles that were impossible”he continued.

“(I was) stubborn, determined, ready to fight (but it was) completely stupid because it was becoming dangerous for my health. I refused to let (my manager) call the doctors, but luckily he did it anyway. I think he probably saved my life because I’ll tell you the truth, I saw death. I’m really happy to be alive and to have made it out.”

THE “weight-cutting”an intense – and controversial – process of losing weight quickly before weigh-ins, is practiced by almost all MMA fighters.

The most intense phase takes place in the hours preceding the weigh-in. The fighters alternate hot baths and heating blankets until they sweat out several kilos of water. A rehydration phase follows in order to regain the lost pounds in a few hours, and thus hope to have a weight and power advantage over your opponent.