MMA: Will We See Additional Weight Classes In The Future?

Mixed Martial Arts has risen from obscurity to become a household name in a matter of a few years, from its humble beginnings of Shooto and Pancrase to name a few of the Global influences.  Most notably, for most Americans the beginning was UFC 1, way back in 1993 when the only rules were no biting, fish hooking, or eye gouges—and hitting in the groin was just frowned upon.

Sixteen years later here we are, and I, for one, am loving it. More exposure and fighters breeds better quality fights and more competition. That being said, our beloved sport of MMA will undergo some changes as it continues to grow.

If you look at where we started, the sport has come a very long way.  Unfortunately, MMA can learn what's coming if one looks at another mainstream combat sport, boxing particularly.  Nearly all the changes implemented in boxing were due to someone suffering a serious beating or even a fatality.

This is a horrible reality to witness, and most of us I like to think we are not watching to see someone killed.  But it's a fight and the combatants are trying to KO or submit their opponent. Anything can happen in a fight.

One  thing the original UFC had to do to be taken seriously was add weight classes to make the fights a bit more even. I, for one, see this happening again down the road.

First, I would like to say that I only see one weight class being added down the road, and it would be in the heavyweight division. Currently 206-265 (basically a 60lbs. gap as opposed to 15lbs. in the lower weight classes). I think a cruiser-weight division of 206-225 would be ideal, or some weight class in that area.

A friend pointed something out to me that I found hard to argue against as we discussed additional weight classes: "Would you let Uriah Faber fight Forrest Griffin?" he asked me. I said, "Hell no! that's just wrong". He replied, "Why not, it's only a 60lbs. difference."

At that point I saw his logic and realized he had a valid point. Most fighters at heavyweight that can cut to light heavyweight do so because it's easier than fighting a monster like Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin (those two both cut weight to make the 265lbs. limit).

Here are a few pros and cons of this idea.

PROS

Less of a weight difference breeds better competition and makes the fights a bit more fair.

You could also make the heavyweight division limit a bit higher or unlimited allowing for more titans to get in there.

Another title to fight over which could set off a year long tournament leading up to the two best in the division going at it.

CONS

As of now, the heavyweight division in the UFC is pretty shallow—less than twenty fighters—and breaking it up further would just take away from an already weak weight class. Also, while light heavyweight is deeper, I believe this weight class too would be weakened at this point.

As much as I enjoy fights, there is a strange allure to watching a smaller fighter take on a larger opponent and this would take away from some of those battles.

Something like this would likely be a package deal filled with other changes possibly in other weight classes or in the rules.

One idea I hear tossed around is doing away with elbows entirely, and allowing knees on the ground or if your opponent is on their knees.This was how the rules were in Pride, in addition to kicking a downed opponent.

That would change-up the way fighters position themselves on the ground (knees but no elbow means side control would be the more sought after position). Not to mention getting up would be more dangerous if you knew your opponent could knee you in the face.

In closing, I would like to say this is just my opinion. Regardless of what we think now, it's almost guaranteed that as the sport gains in popularity we will see more changes to MMA. Whether those changes are good or bad remains to be seen, let's hope for the best.