In an effort to curb the drastic weight-cutting culture that currently exists in mixed martial arts, the UFC intends to roll out a new set of weight management guidelines later this year.

According to Jeff Novitzky, the UFC's vice president of health and performance, the goal is to limit the amount of water weight athletes are currently losing in the days leading up to competition. The most significant aspect of the plan is that the UFC will now "strongly encourage" fighters to arrive on fight week within eight percent of their contracted weight.

An announcement on the new guidelines sent to athletes last week sparked some panic, because many fighters currently cut more than eight percent of their body weight the week of a fight. Novitzky said he has fielded dozens of emails and phone calls about the new guidelines, and he has made something clear: These are not hard rules. The UFC will not cancel a fight if an athlete does not adhere to the new guidelines. The purpose is, for now, mostly educational.

"This is not a rule," Novitzky said. "There are no repercussions if a fighter comes in over eight percent. We all think that when it comes to weight management, the best approach for right now is a measured approach. If we, as a sport, start going hard and fast with new rules, there's a possibility we create more problems than we solve.

"We certainly wouldn't want a fighter who is on an airplane, flying to a fight to, say, Las Vegas, saying, 'Oh, I'm 10 percent over. I can't eat or drink anything.' That is absolutely not the purpose of this -- but we do want them thinking about it, constantly."

If an athlete does report to fight week above the eight percent goal, the UFC will make a team of experts available to him or her for the remainder of the cut. The idea is that not only will the team help an athlete safely make weight, it will provide useful, vital information such as core temperature, resting heart rate and blood pressure -- which hopefully might persuade those athletes to come in lighter in the future.

Although there are no real repercussions, even for athletes who repeatedly come in heavier than eight percent of their contracted weight, Novitzky said he is in constant contact with UFC president Dana White and matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. In extreme cases, conversations could take place regarding whether an athlete is in his or her correct weight category.

Drastic weight cutting has become a hot topic in MMA in recent years. Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, has been at the forefront of addressing the topic and has implemented changes within his state.

For example, the weigh-in process scheduled for UFC 199 in Inglewood, California, will offer athletes the option to weigh in earlier than usual on the day before a fight. By moving up the scheduled weigh-in time, the commission is allowing fighters more time to rehydrate before competition. Novitzky said the UFC intends to monitor the new procedure and, if it proves beneficial, could advocate for it in other jurisdictions and adopt it for events in which it self-regulates.

The new policy also addresses rehydration. The UFC offers a catered spread immediately following weigh-ins, with foods and beverages that have been specifically recommended as scientifically sound hydration tools. The UFC has also worked with several commissions to allow athletes access to food and beverages in locker rooms, where typically only sealed water bottles have been approved.

Of course, the main item drawing attention still is the eight percent recommendation. Novitzky compared the new efforts to a policy that went into effect last year that banned the use of IVs for rehydration (although they are very different in that one was an outright ban and one is a "guideline" with no repercussion). The ban stemmed from the UFC's anti-doping program.

Initially, Novitzky saw a lot of panic regarding that change, but says that over time fighters have adopted to the loss of IV rehydration by coming into fight week lighter. With time, these new guidelines could continue to move things in that direction.

"We're talking about changing a culture that has been around for what, 15 to 20 years? It's not going to happen overnight," Novitzky said. "Based on what we saw in the real world, all the conversation around the IV and what that meant -- it's not everybody, but how many more fighters are coming in with nutritionists now, saying, 'Man, I took a different approach because I knew I had to orally rehydrate and now I feel so much better'? You hear that conversation almost every week now. Hopefully these guidelines continue that."