More weight classes means more super-fights.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the potential foundation of a new weight division in the UFC and while it’s looking unlikely that the inaugural 165lbs champion will be crowned at UFC 230, it remains entirely possible that a couple of new weight classes will eventually be introduced.
Last week, both Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier claimed that their upcoming lightweight clash had been changed to a championship contest to crown the first ever 165lbs champ but UFC President Dana White refuted their claims.
For years, the idea has been floated out there of bridging the gaps between lightweight and welterweight, welterweight and middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight, and light heavyweight and heavyweight.
McGregor – who has fought at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight in the UFC – is one of many fighters who has put themselves through life-altering weight cuts in his career and he is very open to the idea of introducing more divisions.
“If there are two things that would keep me away from this game, it’s the intense media obligations and the weight cuts and that’s it,” McGregor told The Mac Life.
“They always seem to come together at the same damn time. There’s a lot of work involved in the media and a lot of a different type of energy. And then of course you have to factor in that you’re cutting weight. It’s not enjoyable at all.
“The weight cuts are ruthless. I have gone through every single one of them throughout the years and I’ve never released footage. I’ve seen Till release some footage and it was an eye-opener for people. This is the game that we’re in.
“It’s a horrible, horrible part of the business and if I could correct or come in and help a situation like that, I believe I would like to come in and spearhead many more divisions in the game so we can figure this situation out. Because it’s not correct. You don’t see it happening in other sports where weigh-ins are involved. It shouldn’t be like this in the game. We should be on top of this.”
Several fighters would welcome the addition of more weight classes because so many find themselves too small for some divisions but too big to safely cut to the one below.
Weight-cutting is a serious problem in mixed martial arts and, as referenced by McGregor, recent UFC welterweight challenger Darren Till looked close to letting his body shut down when he prepared for his May bout against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
There are arguments that the introduction of more titles will dilute the sport and make championship fights less meaningful but the pros certainly outweigh the cons.
“There should be many more weights to choose from,” McGregor continued. “155lbs to 170lbs, it’s a 15lbs gap.
“Even 10lbs is [a lot]. Boxing is every bloody 3lbs or something, there’s a new fucking division. There’s definitely space for more divisions and something needs to be done so we can keep an eye on the way people are cutting weight and manage it and make the sport more enjoyable for the athletes who are actually competing.
“You’ll get better fights for it. You’ll get fighters that are able to do extraordinary things when they’re going in full of energy and correctly prepared rather than killing themselves.”
