There is a lot of evidence lately that moving up one weight class isn't as daunting as many believed

[BigMuffler]

Yeah this thread has been made before but Johny looking better at MW prompts me to bring it up again - why do people cling to the idea that people going up ONE division is such a big deal that it is near insurmountable? Look at how well some guys have been doing a division up -

Gastellum
Whittaker
Cowboy
Masvidal
Lineker (yeah he lost his last one, but he actually got higher ranked at BW than he ever did at FLW)
Handsome Johny it looks like

Conor and Rumble (the latter of whom moved MORE than one weight class up) are the biggest examples of this. Shevchenko didn't move up a weight class but she can clearly fight at 125 and is kicking ass at 135. Heck "Greater Than Great" Tate was the same way.

Why do some still cling so hard to the notion that a top fighter moving up has almost no chance of still being a top fighter and want to dismiss their chances whenever it is brought up? It seems dated. The way some people talk you'd also think it's impossible to gain 10 or so lbs and still be in good condition...

 

[SimonNova]

Will Chope next HW champ.

 

[charalsias]

I mostly agree,but when you move up,your opposition is easier at first...

 

[BigMuffler]

Will Chope next HW champ.

That's a lot more than one weight class. He has actually moved up to LW since leaving the UFC.

 

[faustian]

Johny moved up from WW to fight another guy who moved up from WW

Jorge moved up from LW to fight another guy who moved up from LW

Gastelum moved up to fight a guy who was inactive for like 5 years and promptly retired after the fight

 

[BigMuffler]

Johny moved up from WW to fight another guy who moved up from WW

Jorge moved up from LW to fight another guy who moved up from LW

Gastelum moved up to fight a guy who was inactive for like 5 years and promptly retired after the fight

Lombard originally fought at MW.

Jorge also beat Ellenberger and Cowboy had proven to be solid at WW before he beat him.

Gastellum - ok.

 

[SuperNerd]

Because the discussion goes to extremes. Of course the speed advantage is real and MMA has little depth.

There are guys who can find room to succeed with the top 10 of 2-3 weight classes, because they're simply good and MMA has a lot of journeymen. Combined with given easier match ups when you first move.

Kelvin is fast as shit, at WW, and very strong. I knew he would give MWs trouble, but let's see what happens when he meets the peak of 185 like Yoel. We're going to understand why he wanted to fight at WW.

 

[BigMuffler]

Of course the speed advantage is real

It's also strange how some MMA fans seem to believe it's impossible to gain enough weight to fit in a new division usually TEN or fifteen pounds heavier and that every guy in a division is the same size (that some don't cut more than others).

 

[Threetrees]

Depends on the guy
A lot of those guys you mentioned were walking around near the size of guys in the division above them, Hendricks and Gastelum probably both would have moved up before if they weren't giving up so much reach for example

 

[SimonNova]

That's a lot more than one weight class. He has actually moved up to LW since leaving the UFC.

He still fights? I thought he was impersonating Eddie in the new Iron Maiden tours

 

[BigMuffler]

Depends on the guy
A lot of those guys you mentioned were walking around near the size of guys in the division above them, Hendricks and Gastelum probably both would have moved up before if they weren't giving up so much reach for example

Exactly, as I edited in in my last post it's also weird how many MMA fans don't seem to acknowledge guys can be different sizes in the same division when it comes to this kind of thing. Wonderboy walks around lighter than some LWs according to himself yet people think of WB as a "big" guy and dismiss LWs moving up against him based on size... somehow.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

Rumble went up 3 classes. From ww to hw when he fought arlovski and won! He's a beast.

 

[Threetrees]

Exactly, as I edited in in my last post it's also weird how many MMA fans don't seem to acknowledge guys can be different sizes in the same division when it comes to this kind of thing. Wonderboy walks around lighter than some LWs according to himself yet people think of WB as a "big" guy and dismiss LWs moving up against him based on size... somehow.

The obsession with height is a weird one
Wonderboy is tiny at WW
Woodley could comfortably fight at MW

 

[Slapchoppin]

most people who move up are people who probably should have been in that division in the first place though

 

[faustian]

Lombard originally fought at MW.

Jorge also beat Ellenberger and Cowboy had proven to be solid at WW before he beat him.

Gastellum - ok.

The thing is that Johny was the same size as Lombard. Their height/reach are virtually identical Joe. That's not what people are envisioning when they say moving up a weight class is risky. Johny is also just a much better fighter than Lombard -- when they were both at WW Johny was the champ and Lombard was a gatekeeper

Jorge is another outlier here imo because Jorge is just that good. But even then he has fought at WW before this recent move up, and he still lost his first two fights after doing so (even though they were very close split decisions)

I think in general, fighters with heavy hands and iron chins can do well moving up because they can bang with bigger guys while also enjoying a newfound speed advantage. But most fighters can't transfer that power/chin to higher weight classes

 

[gspfedkobe24]

Yeah cause Gastlaum and Big Rig will give Jacare or Luke a fight LOL

 

[BigMuffler]

The obsession with height is a weird one
Wonderboy is tiny at WW
Woodley could comfortably fight at MW

I've literally seen people say Wonderboy should fight at MW and Hendricks should drop to LW (maybe not the same people, but both are )

 

[TheScorpionDude]

Height/reach is the issue here.

You will probably see the problem when Gastlum fights Rockhold/Jacare/Romero.

 

[Bearknuckle]

The size and strength difference between 7-10 lbs is not as great as many people think.

 

[BigMuffler]

Height/reach is the issue here.

You will probably see the problem when Gastlum fights Rockhold/Jacare/Romero.

Er, Romero is like 1 inch taller than Gastellum.