Can mma please drop the heavyweight cap?

[screaminleeman]

I think the current MMA HW division is too shallow to support two WC's as most have said. I also however hate the cap horrifically. Not sure what the answer should be. Mainstream sports represent far too much money for MMA to draw men over 265 pounds that can carry that weight in any sort of slightly athletic manner.

I think the best option would be a 240 cap on HW and unlimited SHW. There are only a handful of solid HW MMA fighters that could NOT make 240 if need be. It might however open them to not attempting to cut weight and still be "big enough" at 241 to justify the weight difference argument.

 

[Robbie b]

I know Dada is a bad example. Thats why I said it. He just happens to be the most recent example. Imagine if Brock, Carwin, and Bigfoot could have fought at their natural weight. I think they would be even more devastating than they already were. The point is Heavyweights shouldn't have to cut weight. AS far as the fat slob argument Im thinking if your not athletic enough you're probably not going to make it to the big leagues.

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

People on this board were hyping baruto plenty and he'd have to cut of limbs to make 265.

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

Even if guys can make 265, why should they have to?
Weight cutting is a plague on MMA, and it can be eliminated for an entire division with no negative impact, just do it ffs.

 

[Mikedh]

265 limit probably chased Conrad out of MMA.

He explained why he left and it wasn't that

 

[ithinktheymad]

I think if they raise it about 15 lbs it would be good. Hate to think what someone like Dada would show up looking like with no impetus to make weight.

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

I think if they raise it about 15 lbs it would be good. Hate to think what someone like Dada would show up looking like with no impetus to make weight.

Considering the weight cut it what led to him collapsing and his heart stopping, he probably would have had a better gas tank.

 

[ithinktheymad]

Considering the weight cut it what led to him collapsing and his heart stopping, he probably would have had a better gas tank.

I think there has to be a happy medium.

 

[HaulParris]

@mjmj @Damon3388

forget about DADA almost dying for a minute, in your own words, whats the benefit or the point of having a 265 lb weight limit for heavyweights? and should boxing have one too?

i think its pointless and hinders large fighters from fighting in the big shows (if they cant make the weight) or fighting to their potential (if they have to cut weight).

Bigfoot at 265 lb

healthy bigfoot

Healthy or untested?

 

[Damon3388]

Stefan Struve.

He's had to put on weight to get to 265lb in the past. He's naturally very skinny.

 

[Crash Lance]

I disagree completely.

The current Heavyweight division (206 lb - 265 lb) is already close enough to being an Openweight division.

Even in the UFC, we have already seen Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar. Do you remember how that battle ended?

If the athletic commissions did what you wanted them to do, the UFC or (more likely) Bellator MMA could kill someone who was as brave as Kazushi Sakuraba or Ikuhisa Minowa.

I could definitely see someone who has as much spirit as KS or IM entering the ring at 206 lb (with cardiovascular endurance, of course) and being literally murdered by someone who enters the ring at 310 lb (also with cardiovascular endurance).

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Yup I agree, they need to get rid of this stupid cap.

 

[Paul L]

I'd like to see it raised to 285 to match wrestling weight classes. Anyone who can't cut to 285 is usually an extreme case, usually guys with Acromegaly, too much fat, or too much muscle. The extra 20 would help with wrestlers transitioning and more NFL sized athletes being able to make the cut though, since there is some legitimately big guys who weigh in at 300 pounds with low body fat who aren't carrying around too much muscle.

The only issue is there's a huge amount of heavyweights who would just eat like crap and put on 20 pounds of fat, then gas out that much quicker. So it's a tradeoff.

Eliminating the weight limit completely would make heavyweight fights far more unwatchable, because these guys with already bad cardio would be coming in with 50+ more pounds of fat on them, and they would look like someones obese uncle. Basically imagine the average Bellator prelim heavyweight fight, then add 50 pounds more of fat on those guys.

 

[The Reed]

Like who?

There's plenty of good athletes throughout history who have weighed more than 265lbs. We haven't seen many in MMA as of yet but other sports have had them. The weight limit isn't exactly encouraging.

 

[Hansie]

He's had to put on weight to get to 265lb in the past. He's naturally very skinny.

This is not true. In his last fight he had to cut weight to make 265lbs.

 

[Damon3388]

This is not true. In his last fight he had to cut weight to make 265lbs.

Yeah, and that's the first time he's had to cut, too, because he's finally built his body to the point where that's necessary. I'm talking about the near-decade before that that he's been competing in MMA. He's comfortably weighed in below 255lbs a fair number of times over the years. He's tall, but he's naturally quite skinny.

There's plenty of good athletes throughout history who have weighed more than 265lbs. We haven't seen many in MMA as of yet but other sports have had them. The weight limit isn't exactly encouraging.

A lot of them would probably make 265lbs without a whole lot of trouble, too, if they were in proper MMA shape. There's plenty of athletic big football players around that also aren't in shape for an endurance sport, and are carrying a lot of body fat. Even someone like a Rulon Gardner type SHW wrestler carried a lot of fat in his prime. That's not necessary size, nor unloseable size, if your coming in in-shape and ready.

There's very few athletes who are 265lbs+, who are athletic AND lean and could go a full MMA fight without gassing, and there's certainly not enough in MMA right now or looking to enter MMA as far as I'm aware, that lifting the weight limit or creating a SHW division is necessary.

 

[YesMySon]

This is why Boxing classes > MMA classes.

HW champ is HW champ simple as that no cap no crying.

 

[thedevious]

No thanks. Gives freedom to guys like Tim Sylvia would want to show up 300+ pounds and out of shape.