Fighters moving up and having an impact prove that weightcutting is overrated?

[RiotWyatt]

Robert Whittaker moved up and became MW champ.

Kelvin Gastelum moved up and is now challenging for the MW title.

Daniel Cormier moved back up and became HW champ.

Conor McGregor moved up to become LW champ.

Donald Cerrone and RDA moved up and wrecked WW.

Dustin Poirier moved up and is now in contention for a LW title shot.

Anthony Smith moved up and KTFO two LHW legends. Now he has a ton of hype.

Now, Thiago Santos, who has a win over Anthony Smith, is moving up to face Jimi Manuwa and I could see him winning, making him a top 5 LHW.

 

[Joseph_McBride]

Dan Hooker is a great example.

John Lineker has done just as well at 135 as he did at 125.

Cowboy Oliveira & Charles Oliveira have also done well moving up in weight.

Rumble

 

[The Witcher]

All the fighters you listed are just really fucken good

 

[Your Account]

they proved they need some time to build up confidence by fighting smaller guys before they start competing in their natural division

 

[Fahcough]

best paths to a belt, move up in weight or wait n move up

 

[ThunderStruck]

GSP

 

[LouisBolanos]

It proves weight cutting is a complex issue that differs from individual to individual and from weight class to weight class. It's also something with diminishing returns. Having a weight advantage over your opponent on fight night is generally beneficial though so that's why almost everyone does it.

 

[Ares Black]

All the fighters you listed are just really fucken good

It's more an indicator of this^^^^^^
than anything else. Weight cutting will give you an edge if everything else is equal, but a great fighter will beat a good fighter every goddamn time.

 

[PeterTheGreat]

I don't understand why strikers would cut a lot of weight

But a skilled grappler who knows how to use his size and cuts weight properly can be devastating in a lower division.

Generally fighters should cut less weight but there are some guys who can do it well, and reap the benefits.

The ones who are strikers and cut a ton of weight usually have really, really bad tdd

 

[storeybuckle]

Robert Whittaker moved up and became MW champ.

Kelvin Gastelum moved up and is now challenging for the MW title.

Daniel Cormier moved back up and became HW champ.

Conor McGregor moved up to become LW champ.

Donald Cerrone and RDA moved up and wrecked WW.

Dustin Poirier moved up and is now in contention for a LW title shot.

Anthony Smith moved up and KTFO two LHW legends. Now he has a ton of hype.

Now, Thiago Santos, who has a win over Anthony Smith, is moving up to face Jimi Manuwa and I could see him winning, making him a top 5 LHW.

Agreed. Weight cutting is overrated and dangerous. I still can't believe the commissions and MMA promoters (especially UFC) have not banned it or implemented something else (like hydration testing)

Weight cutting is dangerous and will be banned as soon as someone dies on the big stage (UFC). Then the fingers will start being pointed at trainers, promoters and the commissions

 

[JayPettryMMA]

It proves weight cutting is a complex issue that differs from individual to individual and from weight class to weight class. It's also something with diminishing returns. Having a weight advantage over your opponent on fight night is generally beneficial though so that's why almost everyone does it.

Word.

 

[PeterTheGreat]

@PeterTheGreat

Their size helps them defend takedowns



.....until they gas like a motherfucker

Pretty much. In their mind if they stop the takedowns early they'll catch you on the feet while theyre still fresh.. Not exactly a bullet proof thought process lol

 

[RiotWyatt]

Dan Hooker is a great example.

John Lineker has done just as well at 135 as he did at 125.

Cowboy Oliveira & Charles Oliveira have also done well moving up in weight.

Rumble

Jorge Masvidal is another really good example.

 

[DeathStroke]

It proves weight cutting is a complex issue that differs from individual to individual and from weight class to weight class. It's also something with diminishing returns. Having a weight advantage over your opponent on fight night is generally beneficial though so that's why almost everyone does it.

Thank you for being smart. Its so rare these days.

 

[MMAart]

Robert Whittaker moved up and became MW champ.

Kelvin Gastelum moved up and is now challenging for the MW title.

Daniel Cormier moved back up and became HW champ.

Conor McGregor moved up to become LW champ.

Donald Cerrone and RDA moved up and wrecked WW.

Dustin Poirier moved up and is now in contention for a LW title shot.

Anthony Smith moved up and KTFO two LHW legends. Now he has a ton of hype.

Now, Thiago Santos, who has a win over Anthony Smith, is moving up to face Jimi Manuwa and I could see him winning, making him a top 5 LHW.

Good list, except for Conor. He would have never won the belt without the UFC giving him a shortcut to the title without having to face top contenders, such as Ferguson, Lee, and Barboza.

Also, Anthony Johnson is the #1 example of a fighter moving up in weight and improving their performance.

 

[PanicWrassler]

Yes fighting at your natural weight will make you sharper.

But it just means that you'll be at a size disadvantage.

You need to be very good to make up for that.

 

[Alech33]

It's going to depend on the individual. I don't think these examples prove weight cutting does or doesn't help. Keep in mind probably all those guys are still cutting, just not as much. AJ may be one of the best examples of how extreme he cut. He was someone that over did it so much that he felt so much better moving up that he did it again. A lot of these ppl just over did it and have found their proper weight class.

 

[SuperNerd]

It proves weight cutting is a complex issue that differs from individual to individual and from weight class to weight class. It's also something with diminishing returns. Having a weight advantage over your opponent on fight night is generally beneficial though so that's why almost everyone does it.

Clearly a copy and paste. Who do I give my like too?

 

[Shaddows]

Robert Whittaker moved up and became MW champ.

Kelvin Gastelum moved up and is now challenging for the MW title.

Daniel Cormier moved back up and became HW champ.

Conor McGregor moved up to become LW champ.

Donald Cerrone and RDA moved up and wrecked WW.

Dustin Poirier moved up and is now in contention for a LW title shot.

Anthony Smith moved up and KTFO two LHW legends. Now he has a ton of hype.

Now, Thiago Santos, who has a win over Anthony Smith, is moving up to face Jimi Manuwa and I could see him winning, making him a top 5 LHW.

The fact you can name most recent examples show you how rare they really are.
But there are also some... mistakes.

Conor didn't move up. he actually moved DOWN to FW, as he is a natural LW.

But overall, I do think that, if everyone cuts weight, get rid of it and move everyone else to their natural weight.

 

[Alech33]

There's also a lot of success stories of ppl who ended up dropping. In fact whenever a fighter goes on a losing streak, especially former champs, most ppl automatically suggest they drop a weight class. Rarely do ppl suggest they move up