In recent weeks, much has been made about weight classes. The topic of more weight classes has been beaten to death already, with most people agreeing that the Association of Boxing Commissions was way off in suggesting that MMA implement more of them. I’ll add my voice to the group of dissenters, as the addition of more weight classes would do nothing to alleviate the relatively minor problem of extreme weight cutting. How many welterweights currently fighting at 170 do you think would cut the additional five pounds to 165 instead of moving to 175? Nick Diaz is already fighting in the fabricated weight class of 160 lbs after competing for years at 170. And that’s from a bigger welterweight. What about all the guys who have fought at 170 and moved to 155? Suddenly they’re going to be relieved that there’s an in-between class and they don’t have to cut the extra ten pounds? Give me a break. I’d wager that you’d see maybe 10% of fighters move up in weight, and the rest would move down. Of course, all this moving around would also cause dilution of talent in the weight classes, and confusion for fans.
Speaking of switching weight classes, let’s not forget all the talk about moving around under the current weight class setup. While only one move is official and scheduled (Anderson Silva moving to light heavyweight to face James Irvin on July 19), at least three others have been floated as rumors.
Word on the street is that Rich Franklin will be moving to light heavyweight (I haven’t heard if it’s a one-off, back-and-forth, or permanent thing) to fight Matt Hamill at UFC 88 (which, if all the rumors are true, is going to be an insane card). The case can certainly be made for Franklin to move on up. He’s fought 10 times in the middleweight division of the UFC, losing only twice. We know the story on both of those losses. So sure, a three-peat with Anderson Silva likely isn’t in the cards, nor should it be. But Franklin isn’t the only elite-level fighter to fall at the hands of “The Spider”. What about Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt? The case can be made that it doesn’t make sense for the three best middleweights in the world not named “Silva” to stay at 185 and keep beating all would-be contenders. Fine. So why don’t they fight each other? None of the three has faced any of the others. Are you telling me I’m the only one who would salivate at the prospect of Franklin-Henderson, Marquardt-Henderson, and Franklin-Marquardt? That’s some great fights! But instead we’ll get to see a somewhat intriguing, if not especially significant, fight between Franklin and Hamill. Now, all this could be rectified if the move to 205 is a one-and-done deal followed by Franklin’s return to 185, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
That brings me to the reigning king of weight class changes and current champion of the lightweight division, BJ Penn. Penn simply will not let a rematch with Georges St. Pierre at welterweight die, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s a great fight. But here’s my problem: Shouldn’t both champions defend their belts a few times? Yes, Penn defeated Sean Sherk, but he’s got another opponent coming up in the winner of next month’s Florian-Huerta fight. One could argue that Penn should be able to do whatever he wants, because he’s BJ Penn. And Penn is certainly great. But he’s never established long-term dominance over any division. The title defense against Sherk was his first defense of any title, ever. Maybe it’s just me, but before you go marking your territory in another dog’s yard, you ought to establish that you’re clearly better than everyone in your own. Let’s also consider that Silva is working his way through the light heavyweight division before immediately challenging for the title. And he’s won some fights at light heavyweight. Penn has won exactly one fight at welterweight – his title win against Matt Hughes in 2004.
As for St. Pierre, there were brief rumblings of him moving to 185 to face Anderson Silva at some point. While the voices were all coming from people outside the UFC, I can’t help but comment on them. My comment: that is currently a ludicrous idea. GSP hasn’t even defended his title at all yet. His first defense will come against Jon Fitch at the same event as Florian-Huerta. Anderson Silva has cleaned out his weight class of elite-level fighters. Neither Penn nor St. Pierre can say the same thing. True, GSP has beaten a murderer’s row of top-flight welterweights, but he hasn’t beaten anyone as the champion, and that’s what counts. So maybe you give Penn a shot at St. Pierre. But why should he get a chance before Thiago Alves, or Diego Sanchez, or Karo Parisyan, or any other contender that might come out of nowhere in the next few months?
I’m not against people moving around in weight classes. But if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it right. Anderson Silva is doing it right. He wants to fight every two months, alternating between defending his belt at 185 pounds and trying to capture another at 205. And if anyone can do that, it’s Silva. But you’ve got to earn the right to play weight class musical chairs, and neither Penn nor St. Pierre has done that yet.
