10 UFC Fighters Who Should Have Changed Weight Classes Sooner

In this video, we break down times fighters like Sean Strickland struggled in their weight classes in the UFC, only to realize moving to another division was the far better choice. Who would you have considered for this list?
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[@camcannon9846]

Should have mentioned Rob Whittaker, he has had way more success at middleweight than he had at welterweight by far, becoming champ and beating everyone in the top 5 apart from Izzy until his recent defeat to Dricus.

[@Chicken-Chaser]

Yeah I consider Whitaker to be like the cover example of how changing weight classes can completely elevate your career to new levels

[@davidng8870]

How can they have that fat 5”9 welterweight in Gastelum and not the 6”1 Whittaker

[@alfonsomartin6518]

@@davidng8870 Whittaker is not anywhere close to 6'1 😭 he looked tiny against an actual 6'1 guy in Du Plessis

[@thesportsguy126]

Anthony smith too

[@kawaranai9743]

@@alfonsomartin6518 they looked equally tall to me, idk

[@TheMMAKasual]

“A middle weight is a light heavyweight with a lot more discipline “

[@roachmancam9012]

Welterweight!?

[@spidashaw700]

I mean kinda true

[@georgivasilev8428]

​@@roachmancam9012Welterweight is Kelvin Gastelum with a lot more discipline

[@probablyyourdad]

Or someone scared to compete with people their size cutting weight is for pussies

[@estebanlopez3207]

Dude middle weight is worst weight. They have only more skill than HW. Iykyk

[@joelboutier1736]

RIP Rumble Johnson. Ya, I can only imagine what his trajectory had been if he'd always fought at light HW. I'm still impressed at what some of these guys can shed for weigh ins. Crazy

[@RAG1NGxxINFERN0]

Still crazy to me that he passed, my dad told me about it and he don’t watch mma. It made me super sad because I liked him a lot. Rest Easy my friend.

[@MoshJunkie426]

I know Covington is on everyones shit list but ive always respected him for fighting at a natural weight

[@DecoreHQ]

Agreed. Put his antics aside and imagine him in 155. Guy might've been unstoppable with his wrestling, although probably would've had less cardio due to weight cutting etc.

[@paulosullivan3205]

Yeah he's one of the very few top fighters that actually fights at his natural weight fair play

[@goat7728]

He actually cuts 10 pounds and non of the fighters weighs the same in fight night so it's fair

[@paulosullivan3205]

@goat7728 Yeah he walks around at about 180 or 185 but most of them are about 200 and more in between fights so he cuts a lot less than everyone else

[@homelessman3483]

​@@paulosullivan3205thats smaller than chandler and khabib are at 155

[@HowardJonesOfficial]

Fighters constantly fighting below their natural weight. Many fighters end up doing better once moving back up to their natural weight.

[@Hi-NuAetherling]

Craziest thing about Rumble was he legitimately had the talent and skills to be a champion in 4 weight classes.

[@tehlurfry679]

And also the fact that he was still flat-lining people with the same level of power in each of the 4 classes

[@jordanterry6248]

I’m all for some Rumble love but saying he could be a champ at 4 weight classes is kind of crazy when he wasn’t a champ in any weight class and was missing weight and drained in pretty much all but light heavy where he lost both his attempts

[@macbook802]

Same as anyone in the ufc

[@Josh-up8qm]

​@@jordanterry6248people just say anything

[@leebinpoggersmomento6101]

At pretty much any point he was in the ufc, Gsp Silva DC or Jones was the champion in his weight class.

[@microfister]

Anthony Johnson (God rest him) was an absolute monster.Terrifying, softspoken power house of a man. I know the weight cuts were a problem, but his achilles heal was the RNC.

[@seitan4943]

The hydration test in one FC is a meme at this point.

[@helo6790]

Old strickland just looked majestic

[@sidnotthesloth1827]

Kinda sus but I gotta agree

[@misocriallo4379]

Champ DeSean would've seen that hair & thought younger him was soft & weird 😅

[@NRC613]

​@@sidnotthesloth1827 men Rodman the most sus dude I wouldn't speak

[@hrodriguez561]

He looked like Zac Efron

[@OU888]

⏸️

[@anthonymartinez9847]

RIP Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. You are missed🙏

[@kaostheninja]

The heaviest Dan hooker weighed was 189, not really a HW. "He has also competed in a heavyweight fight, for which he weighed in at 86 kg / 189 lbs, against Mark Creedy, winning by knockout in the second round."

[@andrewblackie2897]

Anthony rumble Johnson making welterweight was crazy. He said himself he was at death door making the weight. RIP rumble

[@winterking5254]

Yeah, you wonder why his manager and coaches decided that he should be fighting at WW. It's right up there with Cain Valesquez not training at altitude prior to his disastrous loss to FV in Mexico City and Wanderlai fighting Mirko. The people who advise these fighters don't appear to know what they're doing sometimes.

[@MrSkindianabones]

“A lot of people talk to me about giving up some size to Babalu, you know I’ve pushed people Babalu’s size out of the way looking for a fight.” The bad guy strikes again 😆

[@exclamation4123]

still waiting for the top 10 moments when the fighter talked trash during the fight😢

[@Kanekashonthedash]

The clip of du Bronx kinda shows why people thought that he gives up because that fall looked like a ric flair flop!

[@hillweggs641]

Rich?

[@TheJuliet316]

#1 was obvious. RIP Rumble.

[@arantxaurrutia0]

Honorable mention for Frankie Edgar who, by modern standards, is probabily bantweight.

[@wickedcaitsith]

Lineker still missed weight at 145 in One and was forced to vacate the title.

[@westsidera97]

Full sized out of camp dan hooker vs in camp izzy in sparring will have you thinking dan hooķer could be a top 5 middleweight 😅 if you know, you know

[@thenedsmmachannel8970]

I wouldn't mind his chances at WW tbh

[@derekgray644]

Weight cutting is absolutely a thing in competitive Jiu-jitsu. Not to the extreme levels you see in MMA, but plenty of folks are cutting weight to compete. To say it's not really a thing in Jiu-jitsu is completely false.

[@ReyShady05]

Do 10 fighters whose face has changed the most since their MMAA debut. Please like this. Ive been pitching this video for years now.

[@jayfisher3359]

Wanderlei Silva, cauliflower face.

[@jayfisher3359]

Wanderlei Silva, cauliflower face.

[@jayfisher3359]

Wanderlei Silva, cauliflower face.

[@jayfisher3359]

Wanderlei Silva, cauliflower face.

[@gentlemandemon]

Lineker is a fighter with an extensive career, but I always think of that cup shot whenever I see him

[@pick_pick_pick]

good job

[@sriig]

Good on you for skipping past Chael’s heavyweight run. It wouldn’t have been a good use of bandwidth, it’s painfully obvious he’s the greatest ever at that weight.

[@ynotefil]

MMA Right On Point 💯

[@ltxero4303]

I agree, but you posted this in a shorter timeframe from posting than the video is long. I'm posting in less time than the video is long as a response to your comment even

[@ynotefil]

@@ltxero4303 Making The Right Choice In The Present While Using Common Mvthafuckin Sense Will Only Attract A Positive Future.

[@ltxero4303]

@@ynotefil not wrong. Have a like.

[@llawliet3733]

Top 10 UFC Fighters who received a BJJ Belt Promotion after an impressive or dominant UFC Performance

[@_Jashawuh]

That old school Chael line was so good.

[@WhispersOfWind]

LOL funny Bayliun at the end, _you know what I ... mean._

[@greghuffman3061]

i just recently realized thay sean strickland fought on the undercard of Johnny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler 1. i musta seen him fight since that was the one in Ft. Worth

[@Ben-xf7uy]

Now i have to go find Dan Hooker fighting at Heavyweight. I refuse to believe it haha

[@diplamatikjuan3595]

Ha, I'm literally doing the search now. Edit: Watched it. My man was looking well-fed but he was still fighting someone at least 50lbs heavier than him - what a savage!

[@kingt0295]

It was an amateur fight on short notice he came in at like 190 pounds way underweight. Stopped the guy as well haha

[@Malaestro]

BJ Penn fought Machida at heavyweight

[@99Gara99]

A carcaça do strickland e do whitakker é de meio médio mesmo, apesar que as vezes o cara acaba indo melhor numa categoria em que ele é pequeno. Igual o marreta e o rumble johnson que eram monstros e lutavam em categorias menores tb e foram deslanchar quando subiram (os 2 subiram 2 categorias)

[@SalvyMic]

I'm rather surprised that Alexa Grasso wasn't mentioned. She always had promise at 115 but it was clear ahe was struggling with the weight. But once she went up to 125, she looked so much healthier and could focus more on her skills than her weight cut. She isn't even a big flyweight, but the results at 125 speak for themselves.

[@riapintai5599]

Ufc should have 165, 175, and 195 weight class.

[@Kazakh_Khiad]

Agreed. But it’ll probably never happen

[@yuini4227]

@@Kazakh_Khiad165 no , 175 no, 195 yes

[@jgold7730]

I've never seen the guys weighing in with towels lol

[@TRAD3Z]

I’d like to see a video with: Longest win streak into retirement Fighters who won all their rematches

[@Poet801]

The Hangman as a MW Champ is wild af

[@jackmesteir6881]

DJ is a good one too

[@Cg-ru3eh]

5:47 kelvin looks like mike perry

[@Chrisministeriet]

"Weight cutting isn't really that much of a thing in jiu-jitsu" Are you kidding me :P People cut HARD and they fight 15 minutes after weigh-ins. I've seen people running around in rainwear 30 minutes before their weigh-in to throw the last 500g

[@sergio260671]

good work mate... I am in...

[@TheCybervoyeur]

Cant believe Charles fought at featherweight for so long

[@NgenHD1234]

I dont know if theres a video on this but how about top 10 fighters with the most controversial wins?

[@gousshaikh4352]

Good content Jones vs Reyes should be 1st

[@yuini4227]

du plessis vs Strickland

[@NgenHD1234]

@@yuini4227 not that controversial

[@dylanflynn5846]

Hey! Uncle Chael got a win against rampage before that ko loss to Fedor

[@Bengt197]

RIP Rumble

[@MrBacon-kj3vw]

Undefeated, unsisputed

[@thebrownbaldy]

Rumble young man rumble..... R.I.P. Anthony Johnson 🙏

[@miculdejon]

Where can we find Pancrase T-shirts?

[@osiriskid77777]

The Anthony “Rumble” Johnson List

[@the_auditor1017]

How was DJ not at number 1? He legit went from being ragdolled at 135 to becoming arguably the GOAT by moving down

[@airidasviktorov9012]

He couldn't switch. Flyweight wasn't a thing when he was competing at bantamweight in the UFC. For this vid he doesnt qualify since it wasn't in his control

[@christiancrowell6792]

The ufc's hands of stone is Sam stout 😤😤 had the honour to train in the gym with him and Mark the machine while Mark was training for the aldo fight

[@zvuho]

Still wondering how is your voice without the deeeeeeep falcette.

[@elena_m19]

No mention of Vitor Belfort? he was a middleweight and has the record for most KO's and he fought as a heavyweight originally then dropped to 205. Just think of what his career would have been like if he was a middle weigh all along. Sadly he only spent half his career at that weight division.

[@ChrisJones-gd2no]

he wasnt exactly fighting at heavyweight, they just only had two weight classes, 200+ for Heavyweight and under 200 for lightweight. weight cutting wasnt really a thing yet so he fought at "heavyweight" because he was walking around at about 210

[@davidng8870]

Wasn’t he lhw champ? He did aight

[@traviskennedy4995]

I like how they appreciate the Hall of famers so much that they cycle through the names so fast you can’t even read them.

[@vaneast411]

Probably most people could guess who’s number one before watching the video

[@ericyoutube77]

Who wins between prime usman and prime Strickland?

[@billycollins1757]

Weigh ins 7:00am fights 7:00pm. Same day on a calendar.

[@learnkeys357]

RIP Rumble ✊🏾

[@Taabituubi]

I need to see Heavyweight Dan Hooker.

[@FoggyTheHippo]

No Robert Whittaker? Guy went 3-2 at Welterweight before moving up to Middleweight going on an 8 fight win streak to become champ, then after losing the belt showed dominating performances over contenders, arguably won back the belt, and sits currently with a record of 12-3 at 185.

[@yuini4227]

du pleesis f8cked him tbh, but he fights soon and should win

[@zachlovescats95]

Yea surprised he isn't mentioned.

[@edmeds1336]

We havevto find a way to get rid of big weight cuts. Its no good

[@joshsportscal8460]

I pushed people Babaloo size looking for a fight 🤣🤣

[@D-MF-L]

I miss Rumble. He was a good dude.

[@dylanwright9599]

Great video as always, I’d just like to point out some inaccuracies. Chael should not be on this list, we’re talking about a guy here who never lost a round, undefeated and undisputed. Chael put the worst beatdown on Silva that Brazil had ever seen (that was until he did the same to Wanderlei). 49-0, biggest arms, greatest charm, inflicts all the harm. The women’s pick, the men’s regret. Remember when you’re the best fighter in the world, they got a name for ya. They don’t call you a great fighter, they call you CHAEL SONNEN. Beat him, if you can.

[@thesportsguy126]

Anthony Smith and Robert Whittaker should be on the list

[@CoolnessOver-vf4mm]

Whittaker or poirier?

[@andrewgutierrez2122]

Sent DC flying across the octagon

[@burkb27ify]

Rip rumble Johnson

[@aquabuddha]

I might be in the minority here, but i still think Kelvin Gastelum was better off at 170. If he figured out the discipline issues at the time of his Belfort/Bisping/Adesanya run, but at 170, I think he could have won the belt. Even after the flu and weight miss, the fight with Woodley was close.

[@davidng8870]

Absolutely he was built for WW but if you take his inability not to be fat (by athlete standards) as a given then I guess he’s better at MW

[@Rjbatz22567]

His energy and explosiveness looks much better when he’s at 185 lbs tbh and closes the distance very well, I just think he’s good but not elite, he fought a younger woodley who wasn’t in his prime yet and had a 10 pound advantage you can’t look at that fight

[@wassileww]

Tf you mean 5’10 is short for welterweight 😂

[@iDeathSparky]

To this day, I'm still so pissed about the scale thing with Oliveira.

[@TheHound402]

Based Thirty Days Of Night reference.

[@dr.loomis4221]

Anyone been following Dan Hooker? He has gotten a ton of tattoos in such a short period of time.

[@joquin4618]

Rip Anthony Johnson

[@manimekan8204]

Crazy how normalised this is. Fighting at a lower weight class so you can be bigger come fight night shows me you’re only good when you’re the heavier guy.

[@goat7728]

The biggest weight bullies in LW divisions are Jalin tuner and Dan hooker they look like they could fight in MW 😂

[@TMothibi]

Jake Collier is literally reverse Jared Cannonier. Think about it, white guy, JC, he started at MW and jumped to HW😅

[@johnsanchez1174]

Absolute DREAM fight..... heavyweight Rumble vs Francis!!! 😮😮😮

[@nworldo]

Sudden death, one touch is all it takes 😅

[@scottc2076]

Colby should’ve been at LW

[@maxgotthajuice767]

Rip Rumble

[@sykee2252]

Undisputed

[@Lukerogers0121]

“Gilbert Burns only lost to the best at Welterweight.” Shows picture of Masvidal and not Belal.

[@MJSilverfang]

If two dudes who weigh 200 lbs cut 30 lbs to make 170, then there's not really a "size advantage" is there?...

[@freddyfreddyl1838]

The advantage would be that they're not at a disadvantage

[@mikearndt1233]

I've joked about weight shrinking.may as well get fat.i wanna see fighters gain 50 lbs and just give er

[@grandmastermario3695]

John Jones probably should be number 1, for whatever reason not on here, why because he fought that 1 fight at heavyweight.

[@TheJratz7]

FRANKIE EDGAR??!?!?!?

[@deuelellan2446]

AI has gone so far now with imagery of chael losing. Undefeated. Undisputed.

[@rambosilek7052]

Dan Hooker should change promotions not weight classes, back to the regionals

[@casailboat_78]

I'm not saying Sean is on steroids, but...

[@somesillyusername]

kelvin gastelum shouldn't be there, he is an undisciplined welterweight who should fight at welterweight and was really undersized as a midleweight.

[@Rjbatz22567]

Nah is more explosive at mw, is top 10 caliber just not elite

[@renanzborosvisk8886]

Coutinho me trouxe aqui

[@jt7331]

3:40 sounds russian a little bit. Danislov Hookchev

[@DontCome2LA]

8:29 cite your sources the bad guy never loss. This Ai is getting out of hand.

[@pon8255]

hear me out... welterweight oliveira sounds terrifying

[@a1_squad596]

No Oliveira or Whittaker is blasphemy

[@Vega_Sports]

Cannonier

[@user-ov3jk1ni2m]

Dustin Poirier?

[@_homesavvy]

All fans that are wondering how Rumble made 170, its easy to answer... WIZARDRY!! What am absolute legend, gone way too soon. Rest In Power.

[@saintjohngalt1041]

Rob whittekar??

[@ShivamSingh-io2ui]

dustin poirier?

[@locks69]

TOP TEN HARDEST TUF WEIGHTCUTS I’ll help you Bobby southworth Brandon Melendez Gabe Ruediger