What are The Weight Classes in MMA?

In any combat sport, the chances are you’re going to find weight classes.

There’s obviously some exceptions to that, with certain events having open weight bouts, but for most of the time, combat sports will be structured by weight classes.

If you’re new to MMA, these various weight classes can be a bit confusing, especially given the fact that it’s not explicitly clear from the name of the weight class, how much these fighter’s weigh.

Fortunately, if you’re wondering what the weight classes are in MMA, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll break down both men’s and women’s weight classes, as well as cover the various nuisances that come with MMA weight classes.

Let’s get to it.

Men’s MMA Weight Classes

The table below break down the different weight classes in men’s MMA in both pounds and kilograms.  

Flyweight

• Weight: 125lb
• Championship weight: 125.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 126lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson – one of the MMA Goat’s, currently fighting for ONE FC
  • Henry Cejudo – Olympic gold medallist, former UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion.

Bantamweight

• Weight: 135lb
• Championship weight: 135.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 136lb
• Notable fighter:
  • Dominick Cruz – An MMA legend who possessed a truly unique style. Although his career was riddled with injuries, he competed at the highest level for many years and is widely regarded as the best Bantamweight of all time.

Featherweight

• Weight: 145lb
• Championship weight: 145.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 146
• Notable fighter:
  • Jose Aldo dominated the Featherweight division since UFC’s acquisition of WEC, becoming their first ever Featherweight Champion. He then went onto rule the division until his eventual loss to Conor McGregor some years later.  

Lightweight

• Weight: 155lb
• Championship weight: 155.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 156
• Notable fighters:
  • I could’ve discussed Conor McGregor in the Featherweight section, given the fact he was UFC’s first simultaneous champion in both Featherweight and Lightweight. That said, he brought many eyes to MMA, and although lost several times, you can’t deny the impact he made on the sport.
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov is debatably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, boasting an outstanding record of 29-0. He reigned supreme over the lightweight division, winning virtually every round he ever competed in.

Welterweight

• Weight: 170lb
• Championship weight: 170.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 171lb
• Notable fighter:
  • George St. Pierre is one of the most well-rounded fighters of all time. He competed in the welterweight division of the UFC from 2004 to 2013, retiring on a 13-fight win streak. St. Pierre later returned to the UFC, where he defeated Michael Bisping for the Middleweight title.

Middleweight

• Weight: 185lb
• Championship weight: 185.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 186lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Anderson Silva is without question one of the greatest fighters to have ever walked the planet. Yes, he may have lost to Jake Paul, but that was boxing and far past his prime. Back in the heyday, there was nothing like watching The Spider’s slick moves and arrogant style that made him a worldwide fan favourite.

Light Heavyweight

• Weight: 205lb
• Championship weight: 205.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 206lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Not only is Jon Jones the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time, he’s undeniably the best to do it. Having never lost, Jones has been at the top since his early 20’s, when he became the youngest ever UFC Champion.
  • Daniel Cormier is another one of the greats. His rivalry with Jon Jones was legendary. Cormier later made the move up to heavyweight, where he became one of the few fighters to hold two different belts in the UFC.

Heavyweight

• Weight: 260lb
• Championship weight: 260.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 261lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Stipe Miocic holds the record for the most consecutive title defences in the heavyweight division (3). In a weight class where on punch can easily send you to sleep, Miocic did what no man had ever done before him.

Women’s MMA Weight Classes

The table below break down the different weight classes in women’s MMA in both pounds and kilograms.  

Strawweight

• Weight: 106lb
• Championship weight: 106.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 107lb
• Notable fighter:
  • Rose Namajunas, also known as Thug Rose, is hands down one of my favourite fighters. He striking output is incredible and her head kick knock out over Weili Zhang was brutal (a must watch if you haven’t seen it before).

Flyweight

• Weight: 125lb
• Championship weight: 125.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 126lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Valentina Shevchenko is one of the scariest fighters on the planet and dominated the women’s Flyweight Division for years, until finally losing her belt to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 by submission. Despite this, Shevchenko is widely regarded as one of the most successful female MMA fighters of all time.

Bantamweight

• Weight: 260lb
• Championship weight: 260.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 261lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Amanda Nunes is one of the handful of fighters to ever achieve “Champ Champ” status, having ruled over two weight classes simultaneously. Her stunning victory over Cris Cyborg, who many though unbeatable, is one of the best moments in MMA history.
  • Rhonda Rousey was the face of the UFC for several years and is one of those few fighters who can say they changed the sport for the better. Rousey drew fans in from across the globe and her super star status took the UFC to new heights. Although retiring from MMA after suffering back-to-back (and brutal) defeats, her legacy is one of greatness.

Featherweight

• Weight: 125lb
• Championship weight: 125.5lb
• Non-Championship weight: 126lb
• Notable fighters:
  • Cris Cyborg is a veteran of the game, having competed in many of the highest-level organisations, such as the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta.

How do MMA Weigh in’s Work/ MMA Weigh in Rules?

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the various weight classes, it’s probably a good idea to discuss the process of the weigh ins themselves.

If you’ve ever watched a UFC event, you’ll likely have noticed that there are 2 weigh ins – the official weigh in and the ceremonial weigh in.

As the name’s suggest, the official weigh ins are the ones that dictate whether a fighter makes weight. These take place behind closed doors, with no fans and only media outlets present.

The ceremonial weigh ins on the other hand, take place after the fighters get a chance to rehydrate, and have fans in attendance. These are only for show and have no effect on the fight itself.

Some other rules regarding the weigh in include:

• For non-title fights, the fighters are allowed to weigh in 1lb over their weight limit. E.g., 171lb for welterweight.
• For title fights, the fighters are allowed to weigh in 0.5lb over their weight limit. E.g., 170.5lb. This is known as “Championship Weight”.
• Weigh ins typically take place the day before the fight, allowing the fighters a day to rehydrate.
• A fighter who misses weight is still allowed to compete, however will sacrifice a percentage of their earnings to their opponent.
• If a fighter misses weight for a championship fight, they will not be eligible to win the belt.

What Does Catchweight Mean in MMA?

Although not as common in MMA as other combat sports (boxing for example), some bouts are held catchweight.

This means that both fighters agree to fight at a weight that is not an official weight class. This most commonly happens when two fighters from separate weight classes wish to fight and decide for the weight to meet in the middle.

For example, if a welterweight (170lb) fighter and a middleweight (185lb) fought at a weight of 180lb, this would be a catchweight bout.

That said, in organisations such as the UFC, catchweight bouts are rare and usually the result of a fighter missing weight, making a catchweight fight the only solution that allows the card to continue as planned. Dana White, the president of the UFC, has even gone on record stating his dislike for catchweight bouts.

At the end of the day, they don’t progress either of the fighters’ careers in their own division and serve more as an interesting spectacle.  

Should There be More Weight Classes in MMA?

One of the biggest criticisms the UFC receives is largely based around their weight classes.

Many fans are of the opinion that there are not enough weight classes.

This is because the lack of weight classes encourages weight cutting. Weight cutting is where a fighter loses a large amount of weight in the form of water just before they weigh in. This level of severe dehydration is of course dangerous, and it’s not uncommon for fighters to experience kidney failure when attempting to cut weight.

Increasing the number of weight classes will allow fighters to compete closer to their natural weight, especially if they are unfortunate enough to be too big for one weight class, however too small for the weight class above.

Not only would adding more weight classes be safer, but it will also allow for more champions. This in turn breeds more “hype” as there are more high stakes “super fights” for the fans to watch.

What are the Weight Classes in MMA: Final Thoughts

So, there we have it.

Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of the various weight classes in MMA and how they work.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get reach out via the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by.