Claudia Gadelha use to cut an absurd amount of weight before fights

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 31: Claudia Gadelha steps onto the scale during the UFC 190 weigh-in inside HSBC Arena on July 31, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The Claudia Gadelha of today is one of the UFC's fittest fighters out of competition and is not afraid to put her rock hard abs in full display.

But according to Gadelha, that hasn't always been the case. The title challenger told media in Brazil that she used to cut as much as 33 pounds to get down to the UFC strawweight limit.

"I don't cut much weight anymore," Gadelha said during a recent media scrum in Brazil, per MMAFighting's Guilherme Cruz. "I learned that by losing much weight, I also lose performance inside the Octagon, so I'm staying lighter now. I learned to eat better, so I live on a diet now. I don't go out of my diet a day now, not even on the weekends, because I have to be around 126 pounds to cut 13 or 15 pounds before the fight. No more cutting 22, 33 pounds for me.

"I think it's already tough for a male athlete, and it's even worse for a female athlete. It's bad for your performance on fight night, so I'm living on a diet so it doesn't become an issue in the future."

Cutting that much weight can't be good for anyone, and Gadelha certainly isn't the only fighter shedding massive amount of weight before taking the Octagon. The UFC is attempting to curb severe weight cutting by instituting max check-in weights for fighters, starting at UFC 200.

For the strawweight division, the eight-percent-overweight limit is 126, which is not too far from Gadelha's new walking weight.

Staying in shape year round benefits Gadhela in two ways, she has a much easier weight cut, which leads to a better performance in the Octagon, and she gets to show off those abs whenever she wants.