Diego Sanchez gains 12kg in the day after official weigh-in

UFC fighter Diego Sanchez has taken weight gain to a new level, stacking on close to a quarter of his bodyweight in a matter of hours.

MONTERREY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 20: Diego Sanchez of the United States weighs in during the UFC weigh-in at the Arena Monterrey on November 20, 2015 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

DIEGO Sanchez has taken cutting weight to a whole new level.

Ahead of his UFC featherweight debut, the former Ultimate Fighter middleweight winner dropped down to the required 66kg (145lb) at the official weight in on Friday (EST).

Considering his former competition weight, at its heaviest, was in the 77.5-84kg (171-185lb) category, that feat in itself is impressive enough.

However it was what Sanchez did in the hours following the weigh-in that had fans stunned.

The 33-year-old reportedly gained another 12kg (26.2lb) in the 24-hour lead up to his fight against Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night 78.

Sanchez posted a photo to his Instagram account, with an image of his scales reading 171.2lbs (77.6kg).

Captioning the photo, Sanchez made reference to the UFC’s decision to ban athletes from rehydrating after weigh-ins via intravenous injection of fluids.

“No IV’s needed,” he wrote.

If the weight turns out to be correct, Sanchez may well have pulled off the best rehydration effort in the sport’s history.

Diego Sanchez has gained 26.2 lbs since yesterdays weigh-in (145 lbs to 171.2). That doesn't seem healthy... #UFCMonterrey

— Mike Young (@MikeYoung204) November 21, 2015

It seems Sanchez’s initial efforts to cut weight were just as drastic as his rapid gain, as he turned heads at the weigh in, with fans shocked at his rapidly fading frame.

Diego Sanchez was looking quite drained in his first cut to 145 at the #UFCMonterrey weigh ins: pic.twitter.com/Y7xjazvaRd

— Fury's Fight Picks (@FurysFightPicks) November 21, 2015

Watching the weigh ins .... Is that Diego Sanchez as in Diego Sanchez or is there 2? Lol he looks so different

— kushie✨ (@OGKUSHGIRL) November 20, 2015

Oh shit Diego Sanchez still has another day before weigh in and he looks like a ghost.

— LEE (@ZestyBiscuit) November 19, 2015

Unfortunately for the featherweight debutant, his weight fluctuation did little to help his chances of beating Lamas, going down via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Sanchez now has an MMA record of 25-8, having won just four of his last 10 fights in the UFC.