Cutting weight is nothing new for fighters. But cutting your hair to make weight? That’s the technique Invicta strawweight Samantha Diaz used on Thursday when she showed up weighing just a fraction of a pound above the 115-pound limit.

Worried she might miss her professional debut scheduled for Friday’s Invicta FC 20 against Miranda Maverick, Diaz thought fast. She shed her undergarments first, but when she still weighed 0.2 of a pound over the limit, she let go of something she’s held onto for years — her hair.

With the help of a photographer Esther Lin on site, Diaz sat patiently as Lin snipped her locks off in front of not just weigh-in officials, but other fighters.

“This is pretty gangster,” commented UFC fighter Leslie Smith, who was present at the Invicta weigh-ins on Thursday.

Diaz didn’t shed any tears for her hair, but lamented the loss of the locks she said took her years to grow.

“But it’s all right,” Diaz added. “You can keep cutting. I just need to make weight, that’s it.”

The unconventional weight-cut method worked. With half her hair now on the ground, Diaz weighed in at 115.9, making the strawweight limit . . . by a hair.

Asked about her new ‘do, Diaz said, “Right now, I don’t really care, but let me drink, let me hydrate and I think I’m gonna cry.”

Read this story at The Washington Post