Marshall Zelaznik: There's no intention to split weight classes in the UFC
Posted on November 29, 2010, 08:23 AM by Anton GurevichUltimate Fighting Championship UK chief Marshall Zelaznik shared his thoughts about the possibility of splitting weight classes in the promotion. With the addition of WEC fighters to the roster, UFC currently have 7 weight classes, titles of which will be defended during 2011. According to Zelaznik, adding Super Middleweight (195 pounds) and Super Heavyweight (245+) classes is not an option:
"I don't see it happening and I think Dana has his eye on the prize for why that would be a bad thing. When you add these lower weight belts, you're not running the risk of the boxing terrain, because you're not splitting weight classes to create new ones.
We're just adding a few on the bottom. It would be a bigger concern if we had created a 195 weight class or something.
What these new divisions do is give a platform to some of the most exciting lighter weight fighters in the world. It will bolster our fight cards. You look at some of these smaller fighters, Manny Gamburyan for instance, who was fighting in the UFC before he moved to the WEC. He moved to 145 from 155, but he could possibly even go lighter. All of the fighters will look at that." - ESPN.co.uk
UFC promoted a total of 24 events (including the upcoming UFC 124) during 2010 and 20 during 2009. Promotion's president Dana White recently stated that he's gunning for more than 30 events in 2011, starting with UFC 125: Resolution on January 1st. Speaking about White, here's what he had to say about the changes in competition for bonuses with former WEC fighters around (MMAWeekly.com):
"Good, I hope they take every one of the f------ bonuses. I'm hoping these lighter guys are going to come in and set the bar. The bigger guys are going to be like s---, there's another featherweight on the card, we're screwed."
Next Ultimate Fighting Championship event will feature a Welterweight Title collision between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck, which will headline UFC 124 in Montreal, Canada. It will be UFC's seventh International event this year, after visiting Germany, Australia, UAE and England.
Comments
Saweeeeeet!!
That more then 2 a month!
good luck on your "picks" !!
creating new divisions at 195 and 245+ is so stupid....lets be honest, traditionally the HW division is the weakest talent-wise(so the fact that its strikeforces deepest division is kinda funny) , there are great individuals like cain and fedor but not enough to create a stacked division like LW or LHW...diluting it even more is ridiculous, your going to have a situation where 2 or 3 guys are continuously fighting each other for a belt and it would be bad in general
The most interesting thing is the pic of BJ and GSP. It looks like BJ is saying "but I don't have any lunch money!"
Rare evidence of GSP's standup post serra TKO
True story it's no secret that after Serra put him away he's been scared to stand...you can also see who's face is bloody and who's isnt in that pic too...evidence as to who's the striker and who's the dry humper
Or evidence people "see" what they want to back up what they believe.
This photo is from GSP/Penn #1, where BJ managed to win his only round. After their 2nd fight, in the "post-Serra" era, BJ's face looked like hamburger.
So what is that evidence of? The only plac GSP is a dry humper is in your dreams.
Yeah what the **** fight did you see?
GSP picked BJ apart on the feet before he started taking him down at will and smashing his face in. That's saying a lot because BJ has some of the best boxing in MMA, and St. Pierre did better
Everything I said is true.
Honestly GSP's striking is better then his wrestling and its only because his stand up is so damn good that his wrestling looks so strong. Fact is that GSP won all striking exchanges with Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves. But GSP is an MMA fighter and constantly works to unbalance his opponents.
I think Dana's right and wrong at the same time, having the lighter fighters on the card who will bring it every nite and take most of the bonuses will only make some fighters go harder for it. people like Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, Gray Maynard, etc, etc, they won't change their style for a bonus. And the ones it will motivate already bring it. can't wait to see the lighterweight fighters in the UFC man. it's going to be electric
Out of those 3 fighters you pick the least boring one.....? At least he ground and pounds, when was the last time you saw Fitch or Shields GnP?
I like the weight classes right now, I hope they don't change, boxing got lame mainly cause of all the different divisions they have i dont want to see that happening to MMA
Hope they don't add them weight classes because it will ruin the ufc
like boxing.
I agree. Leave it how they are.. the fighters need to conform to the classes, not the other way.. it keeps it interesting.. super heavy weight though.. I dunno.. or just open heavyweight more.. I find the little guys go at it more.. WEC has had a lot of great fights.. but you get a couple mammoths in there banging away its always good..
Leave as is. I really don't see too many fighters in a super HW division.
And you hardly hear fighters saying they want the sub,ko, or FOTN bonus.
The only reason I say that is because Fedor BEATED Hong Man Choi... I mean it's HONG MAN CHOI man !!! :D
My mama beat Hong Man Choi
And on short notice.
If they are going to make a new class then i would rather see a cruiser weight class (in between light heavy and heavy weight ..around 220) than a super heavyweight.
agree with all the above statements. there should be no heavier weight class than heavyweight. any heavier than that and it's not about skills anymore, just freakish strength and size.
i am glad there is no ''intention'' ..... there is also no need to add any additional weight classes...... there is a sense of balance in the existing divisions..... chopping in between would be pointless..... you would have fighters (unnecessarily) going up and down in divisions; if this were to happen..... the addition of the feather and bantam weight divisions is enough (for the ufc) they don't need any more.... they've gotten this far without them...... no need to start now......
I wouldn't mind. It depends how stack the division is. Here is my rule of thumb, if you are able to split a strong division and the other 2 divisions still come out strong. Then it is okay to do so. The same thing kind of goes for adding divisions, except before you start it. It must be stacked.
In my mind, the only division in the ufc that would ever stand a chance of being split is LHW. But I still think that should not happen yet. Let the divisions over flow with awesomeness before you do shit like that.
Also, I truly believe they could easily add a woman's division just as long as they made it a open weight class.
WEC IS THE SHIT!!!! these guys are gonna ****ing kill it in the ufc! no more lay and pray matches hopefully! WEC guys come to bang and always put on a show! just hope aldo moves up to 155lbs! aldo vs henderson....awesome!
I wouldn't mind seeing a super-heavy class. I think if you naturally fight at around 220-230, you're kind of in no-man's land.
That's a big cut to make 205, but then you could be giving up 30-40 pounds to fighters who cut's weight to make 265.
I might be in favor of the SHW class, if lighter guys (like Cain) weren't smashing the larger opponents(like Brock). 20 lbs can be an advantage, but technique and cardio overcompensate.
The weight division right now in the UFC is great if you add more weight division there could be an increase possibility of quantity vs quality. The UFC (like it or not) has a really good marketing strategy, getting rid of boring lay and pray fighters for a more dynamic and exiting fighters, look at the HW division it's the most prestigious division in any fight game, why you might ask? well it's because a fight can end in dramatic fashion. The UFC wants to provide exiting fights for the fans..
Seriously people actually think its the weight classes that ruined boxing? That is just mind blowing that you would buy that kind of bs.
Its the fact that it has a reputation of fixing fights,.....
there has to be super heavyweight division coz ****in idiots like brock are just winning on a weight advantage instead of skill set
I think that UFC should bring back the openweight class or an openweight tournamant like they did in japan and old UFC. No weight class = strongest men in the world.
I agree Nik, it was very exciting to see who could dominate them all. With those rules we could have AS and gsp COME INTO A FIGHT WITH EACH BEING AT THEIR MOST COMFORTABLE WEIGHT. wOULD BE COOL. sorry about caps lock. :)
I would still keep the division fighting as well though and leave the open weight class for interest and comparison. Imagine if someone like Aldo destroyed Brock, have to admit that would be very interesting.