Potential migrations to 165 and 175 if these are introduced

[Kompromat]

So if rumours about Conor fighting at 300 for an inaugural title fight at 165 are true (which is the only logical way to put him for main event of 300 as there are two title fights booked already), or if this is introduced at a later date, then what kind of fighter migrations this could result in?

Logically, majority of fighters migrating to 165 will be the ones that are currently competing at 155 at 170.

In this scenario I think Islam would definitely move to 165 (especially to challenge Conor if he's the champ) as there are no current 170s that would be a threat to him at 165 and he'd like the idea of not having to cut that much weight anymore.
With the champ moving away from 155, the majority of 155 elites will stay there to fight for the vacant title. However Poirier is highly likely to move up if he loses to BSD.
The mid-tier 155ers will migrate to 165 for a better chance at gold as they don't seem to be good enough to get past Oliveira, Gaethje and Poirier still.

Colby would definitely move to 165 as he is unlikely to ever compete for the belt at 170 (which will become 175).
Burns would be very likely to move down to 165 as he is a small WW.

Khamzat will surely move back down to 175.

Which migrations do you think would occur?

 

[Luthien]

What about Kelvin Gastelum? :O

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Not happening. Not today, tomorrow, or any other time in the future. It’s a horrible idea, and always has been, imo.

 

[Luthien]

Not happening. Not today, tomorrow, or any other time in the future. It’s a horrible idea, and always has been, imo.

Agreed!

 

[Omegasz]

A 165lbs weight class is stupid. The talent pool of 155lbs and 170lbs would spread around 165lbs which would make both divisions much weaker and less stacked. How would the top 15 at 155 look like if half of them go up to 165lbs? We dont need that shit. Thats what destroyed boxing aswell. From 1 belt they’ve gone up to 4 belts. From 8 they’ve gone up to 17 weight classes. There can be as much as 68 ‚world champs‘. Fuck that shit, i dont want to see MMA get destroyed like boxing. Let the weight classes stay the same.

 

[oski]

The lead up to the fight and then Colby absolutely owning McTwitter would be pure gold.

 

[m249viking]

Hopefully it’s McGregor vs Ferguson for the new 165 belt. Dropping the 170 class and adding 165 and 175 is a great idea whose time has come.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

A 165lbs weight class is stupid. The talent pool of 155lbs and 170lbs would spread around 165lbs which would make both divisions much weaker and less stacked. How would the top 15 at 155 look like if half of them go up to 165lbs? We dont need that shit. Thats what destroyed boxing aswell. From 1 belt they’ve gone up to 4 belts. From 8 they’ve gone up to 17 weight classes. There can be as much as 68 ‚world champs‘. Fuck that shit, i dont want to see MMA get destroyed like boxing. Let the weight classes stay the same.

LW and WW are two of the most stacked weight classes in MMA, adding 165 and moving WW to 175 wouldn't hurt the depth of the divisions much.

 

[Omegasz]

LW and WW are two of the most stacked weight classes in MMA, adding 165 and moving WW to 175 wouldn't hurt the depth of the divisions much.

Ofcourse it would. Imagine 7 of the top 15 from LW and WW, would go to the 165lbs division. We would have much less exciting matchups in both divisions and even journeyman would probably be able to enter the top 15. We dont need the 165lbs division.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Ofcourse it would. Imagine 7 of the top 15 from LW and WW, would go to the 165lbs division. We would have much less exciting matchups in both divisions and even journeyman would probably be able to enter the top 15. We dont need the 165lbs division.

Do you know how many fighters are at those weight classes? It's significantly more than most other weight classes and more fighters would be fighting at their optimal weights so lots of guys would preform better too.

 

[Tweak896]

So it would be 155, 165, 175,...
155: Islam remains champ.
165: Open (Islam probably can dominate here just as easy)
175: Move Leon up 5lbs, maybe keep his streak going he just has to fight 5lbs heavier.

There's enough depth at these weight classes to make it happen, but also why not 195lbs too? After that, a 3 division champ isn't as impressive.

 

[RockyLockridge]

So it would be 155, 165, 175,...
155: Islam remains champ.
165: Open (Islam probably can dominate here just as easy)
175: Move Leon up 5lbs, maybe keep his streak going he just has to fight 5lbs heavier.

There's enough depth at these weight classes to make it happen, but also why not 195lbs too? After that, a 3 division champ isn't as impressive.

155 and 170 are too crowed, So i think that 165 would give a lot of fighters releif.

195 however would thin out the already thin 205 which is just a bad idea.

only 165 is desired, but tbh, I wouldn't call it a necessity.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Ofcourse it would. Imagine 7 of the top 15 from LW and WW, would go to the 165lbs division. We would have much less exciting matchups in both divisions and even journeyman would probably be able to enter the top 15. We dont need the 165lbs division.

Lots of assumptions here. I think it would be totally fine if it went that route lol.

It's as if you dont realize that LW has a champ that will defend less than twice a year on average, there are already 3 Contenders (gaethje, Charles, Armen) all lined up.

I dont think top LW are going to seek high ranked match ups, thats why you have gamrot fighting RDA because it's crowded at the top. The divisions pace is too fast it can't keep up with the champion.


I think you could totally have 3 stacked divisions in 155, 165 and 175. It would just be 3 stacked divisions instead of 2

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

155 and 170 are historically full to the brim. This would give more talent chances to step into the sport light by letting the overflow move to 165

 

[Kryptt]

155 and 170 are too crowed,

Case anyone is curious on numbers (most recent I found). It's a year out now though but should represent reasonably.

How Many Fighters in Each UFC Division?​

We can break this down into weight classes across the entire UFC full roster (including those who have signed but have yet to debut, and those currently suspended).

So, as of January 2023, this is how many fighters are in each UFC division:

Division	Fighters
Flyweight	38
Bantamweight	69
Featherweight	70
Lightweight	75
Welterweight	70
Middleweight	65
Light Heavyweight	34
Heavyweight	39
Women’s Strawweight	41
Women’s Flyweight	38
Women’s Bantamweight	24
Women’s Featherweight	7
Total	578

Last Updated: 22 January 2023

How Many UFC Fighters are There in 2023?

Discover how many fighters are contracted to the UFC as of 2021 and see how many fighters are in each weight division.

sqaf.club

 

[JoeRowe]

Dariush & Belal would've gotten their title shots if 155/165/175 had been in play.

Just wait until BSD, Arman, Gaethje, & Gamrot all win their next fight & only 1 of them will get a title shot LOL.

These divisions are always congested for one reason or another. Sucks.

 

[JoeRowe]

Case anyone is curious on numbers (most recent I found). It's a year out now though but should represent reasonably.

How Many Fighters in Each UFC Division?​

We can break this down into weight classes across the entire UFC full roster (including those who have signed but have yet to debut, and those currently suspended).

So, as of January 2023, this is how many fighters are in each UFC division:

Division	Fighters
Flyweight	38
Bantamweight	69
Featherweight	70
Lightweight	75
Welterweight	70
Middleweight	65
Light Heavyweight	34
Heavyweight	39
Women’s Strawweight	41
Women’s Flyweight	38
Women’s Bantamweight	24
Women’s Featherweight	7
Total	578

Last Updated: 22 January 2023

How Many UFC Fighters are There in 2023?

Discover how many fighters are contracted to the UFC as of 2021 and see how many fighters are in each weight division.

sqaf.club

5-10 MWs would also drop to 175 & quite a few FWs would move up to 155 as well. Then a few BWs would move up like Aljo. It would all even out over time to where 135/145/155/165/175 all have about 50-60. Plus new talent emerges every year to replenish.

 

[Kryptt]

And here is the fights per division last year.

Fights​

• 520 Total Fights (including catchweight bouts) – The lightweight division had the most fights in 2023 with 77.
  • Heavyweight: 35
  • Light Heavyweight: 35
  • Middleweight: 56
  • Welterweight: 61
  • Lightweight: 77
  • Featherweight: 60
  • Bantamweight: 55
  • Flyweight: 38
  • Catchweight: 9
  • Women’s Featherweight: 4
  • Women’s Bantamweight: 19
  • Women’s Flyweight: 34
  • Women’s Strawweight: 35
  • Women’s Catchweight: 2

 

[Grr]

The real question is who will be the Rumbleweight champion.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Not happening. Not today, tomorrow, or any other time in the future. It’s a horrible idea, and always has been, imo.

This is one of the best ideas the UFC has ever had. It honestly should have happened years ago.

Most people after a weight cut weight somewhere between 155 - 175. Those have always been the most stacked divisions in any combat sport. There's a ton of talent outside the UFC and on the local circuit that would fill the gaps.

The UFC puts on way more events now than it did back in the early 00s/10s. They need more divisions and titles to keep things interesting. It would probably reduce the massive weight cuts fighters are doing.

I agree though, 195 or 225 cruiserweight divisions would thin out 205 and HW. Those aren't necessary right now.