So it has dawned on me that hight has nothing to do with weight class. What I mean is that some guys are tall and skinny and fight shorter stockier guys but they are in the same weight class. How do I find out my ideal weight to achieve? Right now I'm 5'10 220# no cardio and born again gym newby.
You have to talk to your coaches about that. It depends on your "frame" so to speak. You can be 195 lbs at 5 % body fat, so logically you would be at middleweight, but if you have too much muscles, it won't give you that much of an advantage. The lower the weight class you can reach without being too drained by the weight cut - the bigger advantage you will have. In the long term, you need to figure out at which weight you body is the strongest and most efficient, and then from there you can either gain 5-10 pounds of muscle to fight at higher weight class, or drop some to fight at lower weight class.
We have a Philippine guy at our Gym who walked around 185-190 ( he got fat and now he is at chunky 220lbs ) in our gym at around 5'11 tall. He won K-1 nationals at 155 by getting to around 163-4 at 5% Bodyfat, and cutting the rest with Epsom Salt Baths (SAME day weight-ins ). He was a HUGE LW.
This. 100% It also depends on when you weigh in. For ammy boxing you weigh in 3 hours before you fight. For some other sports you get a day or more to rehydrate and eat. Your body will let you know. If I could give you something solid... aim for 7% BF. The lower your weight class, the more likely you will be taller than your opponent.
Great fighters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes both LWs/WWs who reached the top I'd hate to use a cliche copout, but find out what works for you. So long as you're not a 6'4" LW or a 5'5" HW.
As long as your BF is not too high, you will be pretty much in reach of your natural weight class (except Big Country of course, although he would do well/better at LHW, IMO). A few pounds of muscle never hurt anyone, as long as they looked after their BF levels AND their conditioning at that weight.
As you mentioned that you are a born-again gym goer why are you already thinking about weight class? What is your bodyfat %? A 220lbs male with 30% bodyfat is likely suited to a very different class than 220lbs and 5%. If you really care about this, lose weight until you hit a division (say 205, but be aware that amateur competition has different weight classes). If you're still carrying fat at that weight, keep going til you get closer to 185.
Ask your coach(s). I was about 200lb 15% bf before and I've cut down to about 170 and it feels more right.
Most people way over-think weight classes, vastly overestimating the benefit of fighting in a lower class. I've competed in weight class sports from 145-230. I was much happier and more successful at heavyweight than I ever was when I was cutting. The fact is for most people who aren't competing at a high level, there is absolutely no need to cut to make a class.
