Opinions
Adding 165 Pound Division - Brilliant or #1 Bullshit?
As of now, the main event for UFC 300 is still up in the air. Adesanya vs Du Plessis still seems to be most likely and most realistic, however UFC fans and those who cover the sport are still left wondering. Dana White has said “fans won’t be able to handle it” when the main event is announced. He has also recently alluded to a “superfight” he’s been putting together, leading everyone to start speculating what that could be. One popular theory is that the UFC will introduce a new weight class at 165 pounds and put the title on the line. Interesting thought, but will it cause more problems than it solves? Lets explore.
Current Weight Classes:
125lbs - Flyweight
135lbs - Bantamweight
145lbs - Featherweight
155lbs - Lightweight
170lbs - Welterweight
185lbs - Middleweight
205lbs - Light Heavyweight
265lbs - Heavyweight
We all agree MMA needs weight classes. This isn’t Russia where a 450lb man can fight a 135lb woman in the octogon.
But is the current setup perfect as is?
The proposal people have been talking about would insert a new weight class in between Lightweight and Welterweight, and move the Welterweight limit to 175lbs.
Case For Change:
One of the biggest issues in the sport for me (and I don’t even do it) is weight cutting. A lot of fighters exist at a weight between 155-170, or, 170-185. Most fighters don’t fight at their natural weights and do these big cuts to get a division lower. I hope the sport moves in a direction where people are fighting at their natural weight more often than not - and this extra division is a step in the right direction.
Also, this is just too clean. Flyweight to Middlewight now has divisions every 10 pounds. It only jumps 20lbs now when you go to light heavyweight... but one thing at a time.
Case Againts Change:
This will water down the existing Lightweight and Welterweight divisions, taking contenders from each weight class that will now compete at 165. Also, more titles may water down all of the championships overall. We don’t want it to get like boxing where no one knows who the real champ is because we have too many titles.
Also, it will throw things into chaos for a while. Does Leon Edwards immediately get named 175lb champ? Is it still technically welterweight? Maybe it’s best not to fix what isn’t broken.
What will we name it?
Technically - this would be the weight class in the middle of the pack, but that name is already taken. Officially, I think the title that has been used for 165lbs (according to Wikipedia) is “Super Lightweight”. I think we all agree that name sucks. So let’s dream a better one…
Halfweight
Centerweight
Mediumweight
I don’t know these names kind of suck too. The “welterweight” name came from the 1800s, something about how much a horse could carry, and “Bantamweight” has something to do with chickens. So maybe we can just make one up too.
Smashweight
Cocksmanweight
Cocksweight?
I don’t know. Hopefully the UFC does better.
Final Opinion:
Brilliant. I think more weight classes is better, as long as they don't add too many. I think the UFC is so stacked with talent right now they can afford to add one or two weight classes without it feeling too watered down. Killers keep coming from all over the world as well as from other promotions, and the talent pool is overflowing. With thier plans for growth (i.e. Dana White wants to put UFC Performance Institutes in many different countries around the world) as well as natural growth of the sport as a whole, this is the time to make a change.
Although MMA is widely accepted as a sport and not some fight to the death in a cage as it was thought of 30 years ago, its still reletively young. Let’s get rid of extreme weight cutting - this is good for the health of the fighters and we don’t have to see any more of them shriveled up on the scale like a raisin left out in the sun.
Plus - I love chaos. Introduce some chaos and get even more people to talk MMA. Speaking of chaos, maybe actually get fighters like Colby “Chaos” Covington in the mix to help premote things and get him back on track as one of the sports bigger draws. Maybe finally get Colby vs Dustin Poirier? So many fun opportunities for Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight fighters.
Let’s do it UFC. I don’t know if Connor McGreggor vs Micheal Chandler is worthy to kick off this title, but it would be a fantastic way to cap off UFC 300. You want to “blow everyone’s minds” Dana? This is the answer.
“and NEW Cocksweight champion… the Notorious Connor McGreggor!”. Yeah, that will work for fans.
Chandler: “We doing 165? I’ll do 165”
Connor:
