Does 10lb weight advantage make a significant difference in a fight ?

It depends on the category. The lower the category, the bigger the percentage of weight difference.

A difference between a 240 and 250 HW is next to nothing. A difference between a 145 and 155 is pretty big.

It also depends on the the type of fighters having the weight advantage. Khabib having a 10 pound advantage is an incredibly big obstacle, while someone who fights on the outside like Wonderboy, having a 10 pounds weight advantage makes almost no difference at all.
 
Jan vs Izzy.. It mattered.

Cyborg vs Amanda.. It didn’t.
 
Can be a disadvantage too being heavier. Assuming both have pretty equal bodyfat % etc a lighter guy will be faster, will gas less fast etc. While the heavier dude may have advantages to hold him down.

Also cutting more weight could make him weaker for fight night.
 
I wonder as one drains so much in a short time span.
I have done it and it feels bad
 
I really don't think it makes much of a difference, Volk was probably stronger than Islam expected him to be and Islam's striking was probably better than what Volk expected
 
I really like this question!

The two important variables are: size and skill. Generally speaking, the smaller the fighters, the more 10 lbs matters. This one is kind of obvious.

This part is more interesting, though: sometimes, it doesn't even matter until it matters. Take Volk and Islam, for example. If we continuously add "functional size" to Islam, one pound at a time, and assume he doesn't gas for argument, I think the results are similiar-ish with Volk tiring a tiny bit earlier on average each time.

However, all of a sudden, I believe something resembling a limit approaches where after 10 lbs or so, Islam basically ragdolls Volk almost every time (e.g. Hendo vs Cormier or MM vs Cruz).

But even when it matters, the fighters' style will determine how impactful it is. If you're a pillow-fisted, outside fighter, with a solid chin, it'll matter a lot less than if you fight like Brian Ortega or Colby Covington--the latter who, ironically, is kinda smallish for WW.

TL;DR: Size, when combined with relevant skill, can produce crazy results--or not mean much at all (Penn vs Machida, Edgar vs Bendo, etc.).
 
Its not just the 10 lbs difference,its the fact that someone had to cut that much and the other didnt.
 
HHJ said:
Its not just the 10 lbs difference,its the fact that someone had to cut that much and the other didnt.
Click to expand...

And this is exactly why missing weight, even by a minuscule amount, is still significant. "So he weighed in at 0.4 over. So what?" Well, if was really so insignificant, there shouldn't have been any trouble cutting those last ounces, right?
 
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