Mir thinking about dropping to 205 ....

[High 5]

Obviously there would be more HWs who move down, but there would definitely be some LHWs who move up. Most being former HWs who felt the cut was a lesser evil than being outweighed by 30+ pounds. And it's not like guys can't add muscle to be bigger on fight night than they were at LHW.

But I agree as fans we'd lose more in a split than we'd gain. At least if it happened in the foreseeable future. It's just an interesting discussion topic.

[cowboyronnie]

Velasquez would rule the division, I'd think.

I don't think you would find many LHWs moving up to 225. Yes, a lot of them probably weigh 225 or more on fight night, but guys usually fight at the lowest weight class they can make. It's not like a 225 pound division would stop people from cutting weight. Why would someone who usually fights at 205 (225) want to fight someone who is 240, 245, 250, or more on fight night?

Saying it dilutes the divisions isn't advocating for the organization, it's advocating for our own entertainment. I don't want to see the same guys fight each other over and over, nor do I want to lose out on fights that we wouldn't get because of this change.

Nah, man. Fighters aren't able to fight at their proper weights. It's dumb and we lose. Think about how much BJ Penn we lost when he was forced to fight at 170. 155 is just so much damn better for him. Look at boxing, guys find themselves or lose themselves based on 4-7 pounds.

I think the 20 pound jump between 185 and 205 is as pressing as any. A lot of guys are too small for 205, but too big for 185. A lot of guys.

[cowboyronnie]

Frank Mir is an awesome fighter. He'll prove it over the coming years.

[REDDzone]

I think the 20 pound jump between 185 and 205 is as pressing as any. A lot of guys are too small for 205, but too big for 185. A lot of guys.

Franklinweight, ruled by Vitor Belfort.

[CapeCrusader]

Mir is would have some interesting matches against the LHW division. But he lost to the two best in the division and now is throwing in the towel pretty much.

[CPT]

Nah, man. Fighters aren't able to fight at their proper weights. It's dumb and we lose. Think about how much BJ Penn we lost when he was forced to fight at 170. 155 is just so much damn better for him. Look at boxing, guys find themselves or lose themselves based on 4-7 pounds.

I think the 20 pound jump between 185 and 205 is as pressing as any. A lot of guys are too small for 205, but too big for 185. A lot of guys.

Well I don't think anybody wants it to turn into boxing, with divisions and champs every few pounds.

I would actually prefer to see the 195 weight class than to see HW get split up though. There is enough talent and depth at MW and LHW to combine them and split them up into 3 divisions with guys at their optimal weight class. The same can't be said for HW. Look down the HW rankings...the guys past 20-30 are a complete joke. It's bad enough that the few decent HW fighters there are are split between organizations. Dividing them further by splitting up the weight class is just not something that the division can handle right now.

[cowboyronnie]

But there is surely talent unable to be tapped because anyone over 205 has to fight 265s. It might not dilute at all, it may reveal new dom fighters.

Boxing has those weight classes because of human physiology. Champion fighters move up 4 pounds, and lose their dominance. Guys move from 112 to 115 and can't hang at the latter. If there were only 115, they would never have been names at all.

Look at Ricky Hatton trying his hand at 147, when he's a natural 140. If there were no 140, and he had to fight at either 135 or 147, boxing would have lost one of the 3-4 most popular and lucrative fighters of the past 10 years. That's because of a 12 pound gap. Imagine the fighters lost due to a 60 pound gap.

[skflives]

I don't see how. Mir weighs about 255 without cutting, and he's really got little fat on his body to lose. He's still a talented HW that had poor gameplans against guys stronger than him.

Mir's problem is that he's always been an overrated fighter.

[skflives]

Look at Ricky Hatton trying his hand at 147, when he's a natural 140. If there were no 140, and he had to fight at either 135 or 147, boxing would have lost one of the 3-4 most popular and lucrative fighters of the past 10 years. That's because of a 12 pound gap. Imagine the fighters lost due to a 60 pound gap.

I don't think Hatton is the best example to use. To put it simply he wasn't all that great of a boxer, got more of his KOs by attrition than from power punches and he wasn't a disciplined trainer between fights.

[Posey H8er]

I don't see how. Mir weighs about 255 without cutting, and he's really got little fat on his body to lose. He's still a talented HW that had poor gameplans against guys stronger than him.

Mir's problem is that he's always been an overrated fighter.

Maybe overrated but somewhere like 8-9th best heavyweight.

[cowboyronnie]

Look at Ricky Hatton trying his hand at 147, when he's a natural 140. If there were no 140, and he had to fight at either 135 or 147, boxing would have lost one of the 3-4 most popular and lucrative fighters of the past 10 years. That's because of a 12 pound gap. Imagine the fighters lost due to a 60 pound gap.

I don't think Hatton is the best example to use. To put it simply he wasn't all that great of a boxer, got more of his KOs by attrition than from power punches and he wasn't a disciplined trainer between fights.

He's a good 'name' example.

He clearly struggled in large part because of those 7 pounds. Right from the start with Collazo, after having murdered Kosta and Maussa during the previous 12 months.

[skflives]

Yea. But its not clear cut. Most other "names" don't have those kind of problems. Hatton had problems because he's unskilled and undisciplined.

[Mike Hunt]

I think it could work for those 6'2" guys who are naturally bulky, but could never carry 250lbs+. Of course, there aren't all that many of those guys out there and I think all a 220lbs division would end up doing is provide a weight class at which undisciplined light heavyweights could end up... i.e., you were once a contender at 205 but you've had a bad streak. You blame having to cut weight for your performance. You decide to fight the lesser talents of the 220lbs division...

I think your superheavyweights would start being regarded as a freakshow division too, if such a move was to occur.

[Huffman]

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ys-mmaweek040610
Ohio is testing a new cruiser weight division (206-225lb).

[Nemesis21]

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ys-mmaweek040610
Ohio is testing a new cruiser weight division (206-225lb).

[damo[23]]

I do think MMA / UFC et al shoud look to that cruiser weight division. I think initially it will dilute the divisions (LHW and HW) but that would only be natural in any circumstance of adding a new weight class, but after a short time I think it would help some people really excel to another level.

There would be a few "middling" HW's that would benefit, that can't drop to 205, but really aren't fit to be <265, and end up in a limbo of forced to carry unnecasary weight into fights etc..

Also the likes of Jon Jones, where they are v.young and already cutting a lot to 205 - could benefit as they grow, where 220 could be a natural progression.

I do think taking the hit of the dilution of a division for a year, will benefit the sport massivily as it continues to grow.