Rumored Cutelaba to middleweight?

[JoeRowe]

I thought that would be a good idea for him after the Ankalaev fights where he seemed outsized. But then he came in thicker for his last 2. Given his height I think he could theoretically make 185. About the same size as Vettori or Brunson.

I would love to see them give Cutelaba the loser of Vettori/Costa. Doesn't make sense rankings wise but lets have some fun.

Who would you most like to see Ion fight at 185 lbs?

 

[Reign009]

That's not exactly gonna help him.

 

[Siver!]

I thought that would be a good idea for him after the Ankalaev fights where he seemed outsized. But then he came in thicker for his last 2. Given his height I think he could theoretically make 185. About the same size as Vettori or Brunson.

I would love to see them give Cutelaba the loser of Vettori/Costa. Doesn't make sense rankings wise but lets have some fun.

Who would you most like to see Ion fight at 185 lbs?

I see absolutely no sense in rushing Cutelaba if he decided to drop to 185. Why would you want him to fight top contenders like Vettori and Costa right away?

The division has many fun options for him that aren't unwinnable, Abdul Razak Hassan, Phil Hawes, Julian Marquez.

Let's not forget his biggest career wins are Devin Clark and Khalil Rountree, and he's lost to everyone he's faced that's better than them.

Maximum I'd give him at this stage is a Gerald Meerschaert or Iron Turtle, both of whom would test his ability to win fights without relying on pure power.

 

[Dorkman]

Always a complete coin flip when guys drop from lhw to mw. 20 lbs is a pretty wild change.

 

[MartiniSIDe]

He never struck me as a small LHW. The gap between the 2 divisions is enormous.

 

[TheMessiah]

If the weight cut doesn't affect his performance i could actually see him doing well. His wrestling is good and he has decent power. His weakness has always been his gas tank

 

[svmr_db]

Middleweight Cutelaba is a future champ (if he's on EPO to jack his gas tank through the roof)

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Cool let’s do it.
I know he’s unpopular, but I like Cutelaba. He’s worth a watch win or lose. Also strikes me as a guy who legit has got a few screws loose, which is always fun.

 

[Eternalwarriorking]

This is a dubious idea in my opinion-- he's been rationing his energy better and getting to work in these past two fights with his strong wrestling chops rather than winging stupid overhands that gas him out, and he's looked much better because of it. He should keep doing exactly what he's doing (except maybe spazzing the fuck out at weigh-ins, lol).

 

[LoveMyMMA]

I think it'd be a good move tbh. He's got no shot at LHW.
Keep in mind he's only 27. If you wanna make the switch, now is the time to do it.

 

[HatKick]

Cool let’s do it.
I know he’s unpopular, but I like Cutelaba. He’s worth a watch win or lose. Also guy strikes me as who legit has got a screw loose, which is always fun.

I agree. He's nuts but in a good way. Always brings it. Sherdoggers seem to hate "meatheads" which is weird considering they're MMA fans.

Cutelaba is a thicc boy. If he sheds some muscle it could maybe help his cardio. I think his grappling could be very effective at MW.

 

[Raymundo Alvarado Guevara]

Let's see

 

[SokoudjouFanboy]

Seems like a bad idea to me. Let's take a guy who's already a physical beast but gasses really badly and let's have him cut 20 more pounds.

If anything I'd like to see him move up, that's if anything though. I think he's fine at 205

 

[markys00]

He never struck me as a small LHW. The gap between the 2 divisions is enormous.

the talent pool isnt

 

[Schoolboy Q]

I’m never a fan of moving down a weight class unless you’re really undersized. He seems decently sized at LHW so I’m not a big fan of the move.

 

[markys00]

I agree. He's nuts but in a good way. Always brings it. Sherdoggers seem to hate "meatheads" which is weird considering they're MMA fans.

Cutelaba is a thicc boy. If he sheds some muscle it could maybe help his cardio. I think his grappling could be very effective at MW.

the new mma fans are quite the mixed bag nowadays. i would agree its still a majority meatheads, but u got all sorts of ppl watching it... i do think hipster types are a decent sized second. also the martial arts/bjj/etc types, wwe transitionals, and casuals that have taken a much larger percentage of the fanbase pie..

anywho, cutelba at mw sounds cool, but man, his cardio needs to improve. he needs to lose some muscle imo if he really wants to try mw out.

 

[MrFreeze]

Cutelaba vs Strickland to replace Rockhold

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Ions 27 years old, he just got his first Co-Main Event spot, and he just was ranked for the first time #15 LHW.

Big mistake to leave the division. Ion is absolutely not ready to defeat the upper-tier of the LHW division but he has shown steady progression since he entered the UFC 5 years ago. He is perhaps the only under twenty-five signing at LHW since Jon Jones that appears to be working out (albeit slowly) and have staying power in the division.

In three years Jan, Glover, Thiago, and potentially Anthony Smith are going to be retired and there will be room for fighters like Ion given they have improved significantly to get title shot opportunities if they deserve/earn them.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Good lord could you imagine Cutelaba and Vettori fighting each other, those 2 big meatheads, jesus christ. Just make Jeremy Stephens special guest ref and it will be meathead overload

 

[BigTruck]

I’m never a fan of moving down a weight class unless you’re really undersized. He seems decently sized at LHW so I’m not a big fan of the move.

This. A move from lhw which he cut weight to make to 185 is crazy. Unless he was like 210 which is still a huge weight cut