Should the UFC add a cruiserweight class?

[agm22]

I was thinking about this since Lesnar made his debut in the UFC against Frank Mir.

I remember in an old interview Big John McCarthy made excellent points as to why there should be a division between Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight, as a 60lb difference is too big and would be like pitting Urijah Faber against guys like Rampage, Wanderlei, Forrest, etc.

And after last night it just about solidified my opinion that it'd be a good idea to add a Cruiserweight class like they do in boxing.

There are only two concerns I'd have about it. One is the already lack of depth in the HW division. If Mirko were to come back to the UFC I think he'd benefit greatly from this, as well as Randy. The other is that it'd be very easy for most LHW's and HW's to jump classes, but in a way that can serve as a positive because that can create big fights.

I'm hoping people can have an intelligent discussion about this and not turn this thread into yet another Lesnar flamewar.

[...Kennedy]

I think that it is a good idea.

The lack of HW field is a problem now that hopefully will resolve itself as MMA keeps growing in public popularity and size of the purses.

[Reps n Sets]

Agreed.

They also need to add a weight class lower than lightweight.

Maybe a featherweight class @ 130.

[injured44]

in the future but not right now

the talent pool is very thin at heavyweight so they cant divide it just yet

a 225 class would be good though

[killermike]

yes its a good idea but, they dont have enough talent for this. if they do this, they're going to have to go scout really hard and fast.

[MaximumMass]

If the diff is 50-60 pounds the lighter fighter should be able to cut to 205 correct?

[J_Bo]

honestly... if they created a 225 class...basically every heavyweight except Brock would go to that class. Most aren't very lean because they don't have to cut weight. But guys like Nog and Mir, gonzaga, werdum, hendricks, who are not so solid could easily make that weight, leaving only Brock in the heavyweight division. Even Kongo could cut the 10 pounds and do it.

[maurer]

Originally Posted by J_Bo

honestly... if they created a 225 class...basically every heavyweight except Brock would go to that class. Most aren't very lean because they don't have to cut weight. But guys like Nog and Mir, gonzaga, werdum, hendricks, who are not so solid could easily make that weight, leaving only Brock in the heavyweight division. Even Kongo could cut the 10 pounds and do it.

true. i think the ufc should keep it as it is right now, the sport is growing abd there are more big guys coming into mma. right now, its good that a big guy like brock dominates and is making a big splash. hopefully that will provide more incentive for big guys to get into mma, so there will be more top quality competition. at that point we could have this discussion again and my answer would turn to a yes.

[agm22]

Originally Posted by J_Bo

honestly... if they created a 225 class...basically every heavyweight except Brock would go to that class. Most aren't very lean because they don't have to cut weight. But guys like Nog and Mir, gonzaga, werdum, hendricks, who are not so solid could easily make that weight, leaving only Brock in the heavyweight division. Even Kongo could cut the 10 pounds and do it.

Well in my opinion that means they'd need to make more of an effort to bring some bigger guys into the sport. Maybe re-obtain Tim Sylvia, add Mark Hunt, and other many big HW's. It also gives people the opportunity to compete in more weight classes, giving them more fights and more $$$ if they feel they can compete more than 3-4 times a year.

But I can definitely see the argument against it too. I just wanted to see the MMA section's opinion and have some intelligent discussion instead of adding to the influx of dumb threads that have been popping up today.

[ArmbarTapout]

Originally Posted by Reps n Sets

Agreed.

They also need to add a weight class lower than lightweight.

Maybe a featherweight class @ 130.

They have that already. It's called the WEC. 155, 145, 135.

[hfce354]

I was thinking that a 225-230 class would be perfect but the 205 class should be lowered 5-10 lbs to have more seperation.

Perfect World:

Unlimited
230
200
185
170
155
145
135

[Bollock-chops]

A Cruiserweight class would be pretty dumb imo. I'd rather see a Featherweight class

[Coach McGuirk]

i would say yes if the heavyweight class wasnt so shallow...

also randy could easily cut to 205....

[hfce354]

Originally Posted by Bollock-chops

A Cruiserweight class would be pretty dumb imo. I'd rather see a Featherweight class

Are you retarded dude?

The WEC has a Featherweight and Bantamweight class. That is what The WEC was designed for.

[Bollock-chops]

Originally Posted by hfce354

Are you retarded dude?

The WEC has a Featherweight and Bantamweight class. That is what The WEC was designed for.

Yeah mate, I'm aware of that.

[maurer]

Originally Posted by Coach McGuirk

i would say yes if the heavyweight class wasnt so shallow...

also randy could easily cut to 205....

yeah except for the fact that hes 46 years old and moved up to heavyweight because he couldn't get the belt at LHW...

thats right... he moved to HW precisely because there was so much less competition. the whole key to this is that there needs to be more talent in the heavyweight division.

[hfce354]

Originally Posted by Bollock-chops

Yeah mate, I'm aware of that.

That was harsh, but why did you suggest a Featherwight class?

[dochall22]

Does the HW max weight of 265 keep bigger guys who could challange lesnar away from UFC?

[maurer]

Originally Posted by ArmbarTapout

They have that already. It's called the WEC. 155, 145, 135.

Originally Posted by hfce354

Are you retarded dude?

The WEC has a Featherweight and Bantamweight class. That is what The WEC was designed for.

this thread is about the UFC... not mma as a sport. we're talking about what ufc should have. you can't just lump wec and ufc together because lets face it, most people only watch ufc.

[hfce354]

Originally Posted by dochall22

Does the HW max weight of 265 keep bigger guys who could challange lesnar away from UFC?

Great point! Thats why an unlimited division followed by a cruiserweight division makes sense.

[maurer]

Originally Posted by dochall22

Does the HW max weight of 265 keep bigger guys who could challange lesnar away from UFC?

sure, guys like choi and sapp can't be in the UFC... it just so happens that right now, none of the top mma guys are that big... the biggest guys like sapp and choi get beaten by smaller guys with more skill. maybe if elite athletes divert their attention away from sports like basketball and football, that will change.

[dochall22]

they could make a cruiser - up to 250, then make a 251-300 or unlimited. I think thatd be good for the sport, if they dont try to seperate it some the argument of 276lb guy fighting a 220lb guy is always going to come down to - 'he's bigger no fair'

[dochall22]

Good point - I'm sure if they added the option to allow bigger men, then more big guys would take on the challenge - i mean yeah sapp is big, but i still think he's not the caliper of some of these smaller ufc guys, but i'm sure there are some people out there who would be able to do it.

[injured44]

Originally Posted by maurer

sure, guys like choi and sapp can't be in the UFC... it just so happens that right now, none of the top mma guys are that big... the biggest guys like sapp and choi get beaten by smaller guys with more skill. maybe if elite athletes divert their attention away from sports like basketball and football, that will change.

hong man choi is actually pretty dangerous

he would beat tim sylvia IMO
and bob sapp powerbombed nog, and beat ernesto hoost

these guys are No jokes man, that much size of lean mass is dangerous.

[hfce354]

Originally Posted by maurer

this thread is about the UFC... not mma as a sport. we're talking about what ufc should have. you can't just lump wec and ufc together because lets face it, most people only watch ufc.

No your actually missing the point. The WEC was designed to showcase the lower weights because The UFC does not have enough cards to showcase 2 more divisions right now. There are barely enough cards to have the Top 10 fight 3 times per year. The WEC is an extension of The UFC and they can be lumped together.

[Superman64]

225 weight class would do multiple things. a lot of 205 fighters come into the fight at 220 anyways after weighing in. I feel they don't make a 225 weight class because there isnt to many guys who fight that are close to 265. so if you are 215 its not hard to cut to 205 for them. but if you are 225 lbs you should be able to fight some 265 lbs or gain a little bit of weight and get stronger /faster . but if they did make a 225 lb weight class there would be a lot of fighters bouncing from 225 to 205. Heavyweight fights would shrink IMO.

[Stopdroproll]

There isn't enough HWs to split in between. I was thinking about this last night, because it's ridiculous someone can outweigh by over 40lbs.

[paul2121]

a superheavyweight division is a decent idea.

[J_Bo]

Originally Posted by dochall22

they could make a cruiser - up to 250, then make a 251-300 or unlimited. I think thatd be good for the sport, if they dont try to seperate it some the argument of 276lb guy fighting a 220lb guy is always going to come down to - 'he's bigger no fair'

I actually like that Idea. It would be a SHW division, but it would start at a lighter weight. I think that could do good things, but then a guy like brock would just be beating up on all these huge fat asses whereas anyone with real athletic ability would be at 250... I dunno. I like that idea better than the 225 class, but I just don't think the talent pool is right to make any changes right now.

[maurer]

Originally Posted by hfce354

No your actually missing the point. The WEC was designed to showcase the lower weights because The UFC does not have enough cards to showcase 2 more divisions right now. There are barely enough cards to have the Top 10 fight 3 times per year. The WEC is an extension of The UFC and they can be lumped together.

ufc wants wec to be lumped with it, but thats not how its viewed by most casual fans, so thats not how it is. your average mma fan honestly couldn't tell you a single wec fighter, thats the honest truth. i mean i think you'd agree with that, and its also the reason why ufc can't have more weightclasses right now the sport needs to grow. which is fine... it is growing.