Something that I’ve been pondering over for some time now (and no, it’s not weird) is body hair in MMA. For me, it’s one small elephant in the room whom I’d very much like to acknowledge.

The vast majority of UFC fighters (I’d say >90%) enter The Octagon with completely hairless torsos. Given the amount of testosterone running around their bodies due to TRT, designer steroids and the fact that even without the drugs, they probably have about 4x the testosterone of your average Joe, it seems rather strange that they have so little hair. Hell, I’ve seen hairier ladies who’ve never even strapped on a pair of gloves or lifted a single weight.

The obvious answer to this is that the fighters wax or shave before the fight. The thing is, a lot of these guys seem like the type to not give a shit whether they are hairless or not, so that begs an even more interesting question: Does the UFC actively encourage and finance hair removal, and is there some sort of beauty therapy facility that fighters use before events?

From a UFC perspective, look at G.S.P, then look at Matt Brown, now look back at G.S.P; I know which fighter is more likely to project the new, cleaner image of the UFC to the general public.

I guess the first justification that springs to mind is that body hair can cause pain when accidentally pulled whilst grappling, however 1. That doesn't seem to stop Matt Hughes, Clay Guida, Forrest Griffin and many others, and 2. These guys get punched in the face for a living.

I know from experience that waxing and shaving can cause ingrown hairs and other skin irritations, yet most of these fighters are blemish free. Is it just the cameras, or are they being pampered like pros?

Thoughts?