The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) wants newly crowned Invicta Bantamweight Champion Yana Kunitskaya to move up in weight.
After making the 135-pound weight limit for her title fight last week, Kunitskaya gained over 20 pounds before she fought Raquel Pa’alhui for the vacant Invicta title.
Andy Foster, CSAC executive officer, told MMA Fighting that Kunitskaya weighed in at 154.6 pounds come fight night, while her opponent only weighed 140.3 pounds.
According to the CSAC new guidelines, fighters who gain more than 10 percent of their weight class come fight night could be recommended to fight at a higher weight class. Kunitskaya weighed about 15 percent higher than her weight class come fight night.
Invicta President Shannon Knapp said that the promotion will keep track of Kunitskaya’s weight in the future.
“The big deal for me is, I definitely don’t like to see that, because it doesn’t seem quite healthy,” Knapp said. “So I understand where they’re coming from and I support Andy and CSAC for their efforts. I think what he’s trying to do is for the safety of the athletes.”
