UFC 142: Anthony Johnson and 7 UFC Fighters Who Should Move Up a Weight Class

Perhaps the insane weight-cutting has finally gotten to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. We learned today that the world’s largest welterweight will be taking a step that few fighters do in today’s MMA by actually moving up in weight to join the UFC’s 185-pound middleweight division.

Johnson, who recently knocked out Charlie Brenneman on Oct. 1, is well-known for making one of the most dramatic weight-cuts in the sport as he starts as high as 225-pounds, leaving him with a 55-pound drop down to the 170-pound welterweight division.

Some have questioned the health aspects of making this kind of dramatic weight-cut prior to competing in such an intense sport, something which he and his camp have addressed in the past.

Now it appears that they have made the decision that their fighter would be better suited to compete at 185, where he will still be one of the largest athletes in the division.

There are quite a few other fighters who have moved down in weight classes in the past in order to take advantage of their larger physiques, but Johnson is going in the opposite direction. He shouldn’t be alone, either. In fact, there are quite a few MMA fighters right now who should seriously consider a move up in weight classes.

In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at seven current fighters who should join Anthony Johnson in moving up a weight class. 

Thiago Alves

Current weight class: Welterweight

Suggested weight class: Middleweight

Estimated walking weight: 200 pounds

Former top UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves has done his fair share of damage in the Octagon. With knockout victories over top welterweights such as Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, his year of 2008 was one of the best we have ever seen in MMA.

The successful year even earned him a title shot at Georges St-Pierre in 2009. He was taken down repeatedly in that fight, though, and could not take advantage of his size. We have since seen Rick Story and Jon Fitch take advantage of a similar game plan against Alves, earning themselves victories over him in 2010.

Alves has missed weight twice in his UFC career and also failed a drug test in 2006 for using a banned diuretic.

It’s apparent that the weight-cut is too much for him and doesn’t appear to be having its intended results anyway. A move up to 185 pounds would make him more comfortable and he could actually have a better chance at success in a division with fewer top-level wrestlers. 

Jose Aldo

Current weight class: Featherweight

Suggested weight class: Lightweight

Estimated walking weight: 165 pounds

The current UFC and former WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has become a star since stepping into the Octagon. His victories over Kenny Florian and Mark Hominick have made him a consensus top-five pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

While his dominance in the division has been more than impressive, there are now questions arising as to whether or not the future of the Brazilian’s career lies not at 145 pounds, but rather at 155 pounds.

The UFC released a video chronicling the featherweight champion’s exhausting weight-cut battle to make the 145-pound limit prior to his UFC 129 battle with Hominick. A dehydrated and physically ill Aldo struggled in the fight, particularly in the later rounds when his cardio was affected by the dramatic weight-cut.

Some might not think that 20 pounds is a lot to cut in comparison to some of the other fighters we’ve seen on this list, but if you consider that 20 pounds is 12 percent of his original body weight, your opinion just might change.

There’s no reason that a fighter has to be a skeleton when he steps into the cage. Aldo should move up to lightweight where he will have to cut significantly less weight while also fighting a significantly deeper division pool.  After all, who wouldn’t want to see a dream fight between him and Frankie Edgar?

Josh Koscheck

Current weight class: Welterweight

Suggested weight class: Middleweight

Estimated walking weight: 195 pounds

It seems that Josh Koscheck is stuck between a rock and a hard place as a UFC welterweight. The former NCAA Division-I national champion wrestler has earned himself two shots at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, but has fallen short in both contests. Quite frankly, he hasn’t even been very close in either fight against the Canadian.

Worse yet, UFC President Dana White has made it very apparent that he does not like that Koscheck and his teammate Jon Fitch have flat-out refused to fight one another despite both men being perennial top-five challengers.

Koscheck has toyed with the idea of fixing the situation by moving up and fighting at 185 pounds, but has not yet done so.

"I usually walk around from 193 to 197, so I'm pretty big," Koscheck told FightLine in September. "I'm a little shorter for 185, but I think with the wrestling skills I have, there could be some good, fun match-ups for me there."

One of those fun match-ups could be against Stephan Bonnar, who he has feuded with through words for quite awhile now. 

Anderson Silva

Current weight class: Middleweight

Suggested weight class: Light Heavyweight

Estimated walking weight: 230 pounds

Unlike other fighters on this list who have only thought about moving up in weight, Anderson Silva has actually gone ahead and done it.

The UFC middleweight champion has been so dominant during his UFC run that he decided to move up to fight in the light heavyweight division just to give himself a challenge.

He has done so twice during his UFC career, crushing both James Irvin and former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin with ease.

If he defeats Chael Sonnen when the two finally have their rematch, there really won’t be any true contenders remaining at 185 pounds for “the Spider.” A permanent move up to 205 may be in order just to give him something to do. 

Jon Jones

Current weight class: Light Heavyweight

Suggested weight class: Heavyweight

Estimated walking weight: 235 pounds

From one unbeaten-in-the-Octagon UFC champion to another (don’t talk to me about Matt Hamill), Jon “Bones” Jones may himself be in line for an eventual move up in weight class.

The 24-year-old champion is cutting around 30 pounds off of his already lean frame to make it to the 205-pound light heavyweight limit. As the champion, he does not get the benefit of having any leniency on his weight cut, either.

There are still plenty of fights worth having for Jones at 205, but as he gets older and gains muscle mass, continuing this large weight cut could start to be a problem.

Chael Sonnen

Current weight class: Middleweight

Suggested weight class: Light Heavyweight

Estimated walking weight: 220 pounds

Chael Sonnen has become public enemy No. 1 in the MMA world ever since he started verbally smashing other fighters in interviews and press conferences.

His mouth has made him famous, but it has also pissed off quite a few fighters and alienated him from many fans who view his actions as immature and unsportsmanlike.

Not only has Sonnen destroyed middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the media, he has also gone out of his way to insult fighters in other weight classes, including light heavyweights Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

As a former NCAA Division-I All-American wrestler, the weight cut itself isn’t too much for Sonnen, but if he loses to Anderson Silva in their rematch, he may seriously want to consider a move up to 205 to have some “dream fights” with light heavyweights.

Some have even said that his style might be perfect to defeat champion Jon Jones.

Georges St-Pierre

Current weight class: Welterweight

Suggested weight class: Middleweight

Estimated walking weight: 195 pounds

You saw this one coming, didn’t you?

Georges St-Pierre has completely dominated the welterweight division for the past few years, earning victories over just about every top-level 170-pounder in the sport, including more than one victory over a couple of them.

We’ve all heard the rumors that he’s going to move up to 185-pounds for a “super fight” with Anderson Silva, but GSP hasn’t given any sort of date or even any specific indication that he’s planning on doing it anytime soon.

Granted, there are plenty of welterweight contenders remaining including Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald, but the truth is that just about everyone in the world would rather see a middleweight dream fight between GSP and Silva than any fight he could have at welterweight.