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Would it not be possible to do away with the weight limits, and instead just negotiate required weigh-in weights on a fight-by-fight basis? This would help greatly reduce weight cutting.
Let's say they remove weight classes, and now for example Anthony Pettis and Charles Oliveira want to fight. When drawing up the bout agreement, they could agree on a weight, so that any cuts would be minimal. Let's say Pettis likes to fight at 170 lbs and Oliveira likes to fight at 165 lbs. They could set the limit at 165, so Pettis would have a small weight advantage but as a result he'd have to do a small weight cut. This is all an alternative to the current system, in which both fighters are gonna be going through misery trying to drain themselves down to 145 lbs.
Titles would still be assigned to certain weights. But since weight cutting would be heavily reduced in this new system, they'd have to be shifted. So Lawler would be champ of ~190lb, Alvarez of ~170, etc. Some champs might have to be stripped if their fighting weight is too close to a different, existing champ. Or there could be a unification fight.
I can't wrap my head around whether or not this would actually work. Theoretically let's say a fighter were to try and gain an advantage by agreeing on a weight much lower than he'd like to enter the cage at, then he decides to cut lots of water to make the weight. Naturally, his opponents would start to do it too. Then we'd be back where we are now (prisoner's dilemma). At that point though, the 2 heavy weight-cutting fighters in the example would have the option of fighting at a higher weight, and thus stop cutting so much again.
I see titles being the problem. When fighters get close to title shots, they'll look to cut weight to have an advantage. All the champs and top contenders would be cutting weight, despite the fact that they have the option of not cutting so much. The lower ranked fighters would be the only ones choosing not to cut.
So they should just do away with titles too. They aren't really necessary. They're just trophies. The best fighters are the best fighters, regardless of the trophies. And unlike regular sports, financical success isn't tied so much to those trophies. For example, CM Punk will get paid big time. Brock Lesnar got one of the biggest purses in history. Sage Northcutt makes more than the majority of the roster. Mighty Mouse isn't among the highest paid fighters in the UFC. You get the idea...
The alternative to titles would just be a big P4P ranking list. One for men and one for women. All men get ranked in the same list as one another. All women get ranked in the same list as one another. Each fighters' recent weights would be noted in their ranking. So, for example, we'd see #1 Demetrious Johnson (139, 142, 140) #2 Dominick Cruz (154, 154, 151) #3 Robbie Lawler (190, 191, 193), etc. None of those fighters have any sort of title. Their prestige would come from the fans' and other fighters' acknowledgement of their skill. Why do they need a shiny belt too? It's proven to not matter so much to the business, ie Mighty Mouse not being a star.
As you can see my opinion changed as I wrote this post. I wrote that there'sd still be champs but then went back on that. I can't be bothered to go back and restructure the post. Just enjoy my ramblings. I wouldn't care if there were no champions. I just want to see good fights. Like I said, the best fighters are the best fighters, regardless of whether or not they have a belt. I just hate weight cutting. This sport is brutal enough in the cage. I don't see why it has to be brutal outside the cage too.
TLDR: Remove weight classes and champions, in an attempt to abolish weight cutting. Instead of weight classes, fight weights would be negotiated in bout agreements. Instead of having champions, rankings would be emphasized (and improved).
Let's say they remove weight classes, and now for example Anthony Pettis and Charles Oliveira want to fight. When drawing up the bout agreement, they could agree on a weight, so that any cuts would be minimal. Let's say Pettis likes to fight at 170 lbs and Oliveira likes to fight at 165 lbs. They could set the limit at 165, so Pettis would have a small weight advantage but as a result he'd have to do a small weight cut. This is all an alternative to the current system, in which both fighters are gonna be going through misery trying to drain themselves down to 145 lbs.
Titles would still be assigned to certain weights. But since weight cutting would be heavily reduced in this new system, they'd have to be shifted. So Lawler would be champ of ~190lb, Alvarez of ~170, etc. Some champs might have to be stripped if their fighting weight is too close to a different, existing champ. Or there could be a unification fight.
I can't wrap my head around whether or not this would actually work. Theoretically let's say a fighter were to try and gain an advantage by agreeing on a weight much lower than he'd like to enter the cage at, then he decides to cut lots of water to make the weight. Naturally, his opponents would start to do it too. Then we'd be back where we are now (prisoner's dilemma). At that point though, the 2 heavy weight-cutting fighters in the example would have the option of fighting at a higher weight, and thus stop cutting so much again.
I see titles being the problem. When fighters get close to title shots, they'll look to cut weight to have an advantage. All the champs and top contenders would be cutting weight, despite the fact that they have the option of not cutting so much. The lower ranked fighters would be the only ones choosing not to cut.
So they should just do away with titles too. They aren't really necessary. They're just trophies. The best fighters are the best fighters, regardless of the trophies. And unlike regular sports, financical success isn't tied so much to those trophies. For example, CM Punk will get paid big time. Brock Lesnar got one of the biggest purses in history. Sage Northcutt makes more than the majority of the roster. Mighty Mouse isn't among the highest paid fighters in the UFC. You get the idea...
The alternative to titles would just be a big P4P ranking list. One for men and one for women. All men get ranked in the same list as one another. All women get ranked in the same list as one another. Each fighters' recent weights would be noted in their ranking. So, for example, we'd see #1 Demetrious Johnson (139, 142, 140) #2 Dominick Cruz (154, 154, 151) #3 Robbie Lawler (190, 191, 193), etc. None of those fighters have any sort of title. Their prestige would come from the fans' and other fighters' acknowledgement of their skill. Why do they need a shiny belt too? It's proven to not matter so much to the business, ie Mighty Mouse not being a star.
As you can see my opinion changed as I wrote this post. I wrote that there'sd still be champs but then went back on that. I can't be bothered to go back and restructure the post. Just enjoy my ramblings. I wouldn't care if there were no champions. I just want to see good fights. Like I said, the best fighters are the best fighters, regardless of whether or not they have a belt. I just hate weight cutting. This sport is brutal enough in the cage. I don't see why it has to be brutal outside the cage too.
TLDR: Remove weight classes and champions, in an attempt to abolish weight cutting. Instead of weight classes, fight weights would be negotiated in bout agreements. Instead of having champions, rankings would be emphasized (and improved).
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