Comments on: Superheavy and Cruiser: Weight Class Discussions

By: ironman

ironman — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:16:55 +0000

Bill, we may not see guys jumping up, but we see a lot of guys dropping down, which is common in boxing, too.

As much as I like the old, open weight, UFC days, I think that the farther we put them behind us, the better, and the cruiserweight division would help reduce that in the heavyweight division.

Still, I understand the appeal. There’s no right or wrong answer to this question, and this is just a tentative solution.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:17:07 +0000

I may be alone but I like the way the heavyweight division is set up. Unlike the other weight classes the HW has such a weight disparity that it kind of resembles the early UFC days when there were no weight classes. For example when Couture fought Lesnar, Randy weighed in around 225 and Brock at 265. That’s like having lightweight vs. a light-heavyweight (I know five pounds but Brock cuts). Aside from the occasional BJ Penn or Anderson Silva jumping up in weight we rarely get to see fighters competing out of their weight classes against bigger fighters. In the HW division this can happen regularly. Finally, I think that people are worried about this because guys like Lesnar and Carwin will dominate the division because of their size. All it means to me is that HW fighters are going to have to be more creative and more well rounded.

By: ironman

ironman — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:26:30 +0000

Matt, I’m with you. I do expect that, once TUF 10 is done, they’ll have enough guys to split the heavyweight division, though they’ll certainly have to pick up some more prospects as the time goes along.

There are a handful of really solid fighters that would remain in that heavyweight division (Lesnar, Carwin, Hague, Gonzaga, primarily). Add six guys to that mix and pick up two or three prospects (bring Neil Grove back, if his leg’s alright, and try and hook Ben Rothwell, or Bigfoot) and convince a few of the more dangerous guys that are on the cusp to stay in the division, if they don’t want to make the weight cut, or can’t, and that’s a solid division.

The list of guys who’d be in that cruiserweight division is pretty solid. Couture, Mir, Nogueira, CroCop, Kongo, Velasquez, etc. All of those guys are going to have huge issues competing with Carwin and Lesnar, but would be immensly competitive in their own weight class, all competing for the same title. Add in some solid prospects (there’s this kid Hae Joon Yang who might be good, but I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t compete at lightheavyweight) and some solid UFC veterans, like Dos Santos, and I think that’s a solid division.

Of course, the UFC does need to grow the roster, but TUF 10 is going to help with that a lot. It’s also going to make this problem a lot more visible.

By: Matt C.

Matt C. — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:52:46 +0000

Very nice article.

I do think they will eventually add another weight class in there. I think the depth of the division will decide when they can actually do it though.

By: E. Spencer Kyte

E. Spencer Kyte — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:04:36 +0000

Thanks for referencing the story and I do think this is something that will be discussed around the MMA community, but I personally still don’t see the reasoning behind it.

For years, guys have been competing at the lower end of the heavyweight scale and being successful. Randy Couture is far from a big man in terms of heavyweight and he’s held the belt on numerous occasions.

Installing a middle ground just creates multiple weaker divisions, instead of a deep and somewhat talented heavyweight pool.