Ramirez facing weight issues ahead of Asian meet
For jiujitsu master Annie Ramirez, age is turning out to be more than just a number.
The Asian Games gold medalist has been grappling with weight issues ahead of the 2025 Asian Jiujitsu Championships, where she is a consistent top podium contender.
“As you age, weight cutting is becoming more brutal compared to when you are in your 20s,” said the 34-year-old Ramirez. “There’s a big difference, especially when [you’re] 30 years old onward.”
Though she has won in the annual continental championships twice, in the women’s -57kg category, and Ramirez, however, is out for redemption in the May 24 to May 26 Asian meet in Amman, Jordan, after placing third in her division last year.
“I can feel that my body mass has become heavier because of the muscle that I gained, making it doubly hard to meet the necessary weight,’’ said Ramirez, a three-time Southeast Asian Games champ. “When I was younger, I had lesser muscle mass with those baby fats easier to remove.”
Apart from eyeing a third gold in the Asian joust, Ramirez is prepping for a second straight appearance in the World Games from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17 in Chengdu, China.
A former national judoka, Ramirez first burst into the limelight after striking one of two golds the country brought home from the 2017 Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
At that time, the other gold was captured by Meggie Ochoa, who went on to become a three-time world champion and Asian Games gold medalist before she retired early this year.
“Of course the goal here (in the Asian championships) is the gold,” Ramirez said. “I have been preparing hard during practices and workouts, but I have no full control of what could happen on the day of the fight itself.
