## 4 Discussion  
Taking into consideration the demand to resolve cut-off points for the classification of body fat, BIA was applied to assure reliable measurements of the core elements of anthropometry in a population of elite male athletes from combat sports. The results of the present study could support sports professionals to derive cut-off values with respect to classifying body fat percentages. The relevance of the cut-off points demonstrated for BIA provides a new capability for allocating body fat levels in the following seven classes: 'extremely low','very low', 'below normal', 'normal', 'above normal','very excessive', and 'extremely excessive'. On this basis, considering the fact that the preceding normative tables have not been specified for this athletic group, a body fat percentage classification for elite male athletes competing in combat sports has been proposed in this study. An equivalent classification was also defined for body mass index in mature persons:'severe  
Figure 1: The association between body fat mass (%) and variables such as muscle-to-fat ratio and body mass index (kg/m\({}^{2}\)) in male athletes from combat sports. F (2, 49) = 151.1, \(p<0.001\), R\({}^{2}\) = 0.86. Figure 2: **(A)**–the association between weight categories and body fat mass (%) in male athletes from combat sports (F (1, 50) = 79.2, \(p<0.0001\), R\({}^{2}\) = 0.62); **(B)**—the association between weight categories and muscle-to-fat ratio in male athletes from combat sports (F (1, 50) = 31.4, \(p<0.0001\), R\({}^{2}\) = 0.38); Weight classes (WCs) in which combat male athletes were competing were allocated as follows: Greco-Roman wrestricts were competing in WCs namely: 1—\(<\)60 kg, 2—60.1–67 kg, 3—67.1–77 kg, 4—77.1–87 kg, 5—87.1–97 kg, 6—97.1–130 kg; judokas were competing in WCs namely: 1—\(<\)60 kg, 2—60.1–66 kg, 3—66.1–73 kg, 4—73.1–81 kg, 5—81.1–90 kg, 6—90.1–100 kg, 7—100 kg; boxers were competing in WCs namely: 1—\(<\) 52 kg, 2—52.1–57 kg, 3—57.1–63 kg, 4—63.1–69 kg, 5—69.1–75 kg, 6—75.1–81 kg, 7—81.1–91 kg, 8—91 kg. underweight', 'underweight', 'normal weight', 'overweight','moderate obesity','severe obesity', and'morbid obesity' [49; 50]. However, in the context of individual assessments, the body mass index does not appear to be effective in eliminating the risks associated with a waistline measurement, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat as it displays low prognostic values and results in biases when it comes to the interpretation of outcomes [51]. According to a recent study conducted in 2020, depending on the data of the body composition analysis based on a DXA assessment, the mean body fat percentages among the international-level male athletes competing in boxing, wrestling, and judo accounted for 9.1%, 13.1%, and 14.5%, respectively [52]. In turn, our study identified that body fat mass equaled -15.2% (range: from 5.4 % to 30.2%) with no significant differences in body fat percentage among athletes from different combat sports. After applying the BIA body composition analysis method, our study revealed higher body fat levels for athletes compared to the DXA assessment outcomes obtained in the study carried out by [PERSON] et al. [52]. Nevertheless, [PERSON] et al. [45] found very strong correlations between the DXA and different BIAs models in line with other scientific evidence, which also suggests that DXA tends to show higher estimates of fat mass when compared to the BIAs used [26]. Hence, in our case, the pertinence of the body fat classification was restricted to BIA. Furthermore, our study made it clear that new classification tables for body fat attained using different approaches should be delineated as the fluctuation of cut-off points may lead to an underestimation or overestimation of the values obtained.