Fighters (like Stephens) that moving to other div was a game changer for them:

[AimedWithV]

Hi guys,

It just struck me now, how much Stephens gained from moving to 145.
From being KOd by a veteran Yves to a top 5 - in the age when a career usualyl starts deteriorating.

Who are other fighters that you remember as such? That division change absolutely changed their success for good?
From mediocrity to top?

I'm a bit tired, my kid is sick...so the only name that comes to mind right now is Dominick Cruz.

 

[Washad]

Robert Whitaker.
/thread.

 

[AimedWithV]

Robert Whitaker.
/thread.

Another great example, thanks. But who else?

 

[The guest]

Rumble.

 

[DragRacer]

Johnny Hendricks @MW

Oh wait..

 

[smart.feller]

DC...never HW Champ, moved to 205 and won it when Bones pulled a bones.

Chael Sonnen moving up to HW (undefeated).

But in all seriousness...

Robbie Lawler when he finally settled in at 170...he was a very good fighter at 185, but amazing at 170.

Mighty Mouse when he dropped to 125...he was certainly a high level fighter at 135, but I don’t think he’d ever have been world champ, and he looks like the best in the world fighting at his natural weight.

The hard part is that this is a small sample pool to draw from, as the lighter weight classes are newer to the UFC, and give a lot more opportunity to gain/shed weight without monumental body swings.

Maybe Bisping, but he only had one loss at 205 and was notorious for drinking after training while at LHW.

 

[Leinster Rugby]

Poirier, to a lesser extent than B Knuckles but still

 

[wake_me]

Robert Whitaker.
/thread.

You don't get to call the thread closed like that mate..

It's not even who was the best to do it. There is room for discussion here

 

[KB Warrior]

Andrade
Maia
Poirer

 

[AimedWithV]

Maia
Poirer

These two actually had the same ranks in both of the divisions they fought in.
Maia - top 5 and #1 contender in Mw and WW.
Poirier - top 10 in FW and LW

 

[agibmxmma]

Hi guys,

It just struck me now, how much Stephens gained from moving to 145.
From being KOd by a veteran Yves to a top 5 - in the age when a career usualyl starts deteriorating.

Who are other fighters that you remember as such? That division change absolutely changed their success for good?
From mediocrity to top?

I'm a bit tired, my kid is sick...so the only name that comes to mind right now is Dominick Cruz.

DJ, Poirier, Whittaker, Rumble, and DC..

 

[The guest]

Hi guys,

It just struck me now, how much Stephens gained from moving to 145.
From being KOd by a veteran Yves to a top 5 - in the age when a career usualyl starts deteriorating.

Who are other fighters that you remember as such? That division change absolutely changed their success for good?
From mediocrity to top?

I'm a bit tired, my kid is sick...so the only name that comes to mind right now is Dominick Cruz.

I hope your child gets well soon. Truly the worst part about being a parent.

 

[AimedWithV]

DC..

Now DC - I'm not sure he's in the same category.

He did very well in HW, and his skillset is great for HW too. Size doesn't matter there, never did.
His move to LHW was more because of Cain than due to any other reasons.

 

[AimedWithV]

I hope your child gets well soon. Truly the worst part about being a parent.

Don't worry bro, just a virus from a kindergarten. He gets a new virus once a month. And this is after vaccination.

I'm tired because when he's awake we're playing non stop.

 

[Bill Laimbeer]

He still loses to top guys and was beat standing by Moicano not to long ago.... not much has changed bro.

 

[KeiranMc]

Maia and Machida both went on a little run when moving weight classes but eventually lost a few

 

[AimedWithV]

He still loses to top guys and was beat standing by Moicano not to long ago.... not much has changed bro.

Losing to top guys is not the same as getting KOd by a veteran from a previous decade in the 1st round....while being ranked @somehwere top 30-40

 

[Frozen Sea]

Valentina Shevchenko

 

[agibmxmma]

Now DC - I'm not sure he's in the same category.

He did very well in HW, and his skillset is great for HW too. Size doesn't matter there, never did.
His move to LHW was more because of Cain than due to any other reasons.

Being I trained at AKA as far back as Rumble being there and Cung taught classes.. I would say it had to do with the reality that LHW was easier to maintain at a high level over prolonged period of time which was years, for DC at the time, then to carry the extra weight to compete at HW and be more undersized.. Cain and DC would never have fought, regardless.. that was only a small part of it, just like it is today. Reality is DC is within the realm of what was asked in question, being you asked for opinion on a subject you are no expert on. Size matters at HW, and always will.. it's why Monson didn't go further in career, it's why Evans went to LHW, etc etc..

 

[AimedWithV]

Maia and Machida both went on a little run when moving weight classes but eventually lost a few

But that wasn't a game changer for either...they were successful in both divisions pretty muc hthe same.