Is the UFC looking to add weight classes?

01/02/2024 14:40

Adding weight classes to the biggest organization in mixed martial arts, the UFC, has been talked about for years. There's ten pounds between the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions. As the weight classes go up, the amount of pounds between them increases.

There's 15 pounds between welterweight and middleweight and then it jumps 20 pounds for the light heavyweight division. Heavyweight is of course anything between 207 pounds to 266 pounds, given the extra pound allowance in non-title bouts.

Former two-division UFC champion and commentator Daniel Cormier shared a rumor that the UFC is looking to make a change in their weight classes.

"I don't know who reported this and it's so weird ," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "Somebody said that the UFC is looking to add 165 and move 170 to 175 and they were doing this because they want to do Chandler and McGregor as the 165-pound championship fight."

Former two-division champion Conor McGregor is expected to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler in his octagon return at some point this year. "Notorious" last fought in a championship bout in 2018, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. It would be strange to give McGregor, who is coming off back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and hasn't fought in nearly three years, a title shot.

Cormier's co-host, former UFC fighter Ben Askren, liked the potential changes and once pushed for exactly the same weight classes.

"I tried pushing the 65, 75 thing many years ago when I was coming to the UFC," Askren said. "My good friend Tyron Woodley was the champion and I wasn't going to fight him so I wanted another path to a title. I tried pushing the issue. Honestly, I think going 55, 65, 75, 85 would be good. I think it's right."

"I think we think in wrestling there's too few of weight classes. While 15 pounds isn't as wide as in wrestling in the Olympics they're still just a little bit too wide in my opinion," Askren continued. "I actually like the 65, 75, 85, and I think the 205 is appropriate because there's less big guys and then the heavyweights. I think it's perfect. I don't think Dana's going to do it."