By Ryan Young
With the UFC having expanded to eight weight classes this year, never has it been easier for fighters to shuffle between divisions.
There are now four smaller weight classes from the 155-pound lightweight division down to the 125-pound flyweights, a difference of only 10 pounds separating each of them.
In other words, for a sport where competitors can cut as much as 20-30 pounds prior to a fight, not a great deal of disparity. It has allowed for certain fighters to bounce from division to division in search of the perfect weight class for themselves.
Two more will attempt to find a new home on the main card of UFC 150 on Saturday night, as both Jake Shields and Justin Lawrence are changing divisions, albeit for much different reasons.
Lawrence drops from lightweight to featherweight following his stint on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter when he takes on Max Holloway in the main card’s opening fight.
He’s done well competing at 155 pounds, taking eventual show winner Michael Chiesa into the third round of their quarterfinal bout and knocking out John Cofer with a highlight reel head-kick on the live finale, but he’s a shorter fighter and is better suited at 145 pounds. Not only can he make the new weight with ease, allowing him to matchup against smaller competition, but with fewer title contenders at featherweight his path to a title shot looks a lot easier than if he’d stay in the ultra-deep lightweight division.
Shields is going in the opposite direction as he moves back up in weight from 170 to 185 pounds to face Ed Herman. The 33-year-old, who has looked lethargic in his four UFC fights as a welterweight, returns to the weight class where he won the Strikeforce title and successfully defended it against Dan Henderson. With his impressive resume, and the exposure he received last year while facing Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, ending Herman’s three-fight win streak puts him on the cusp of being considered a potential title challenger with the likes of Chris Weidman, Alan Belcher or Michael Bisping.
Switching divisions is an enticing proposition for any fighter looking to shake up their career and/or find some new motivation. In a lot of cases fighters are given a proverbial “clean slate” when starting out at a new weight.
Tim Boetsch did it early last year and has gone on a 4-0 run at middleweight en route to title consideration. Aaron Simpson dropped a weight class just nine days before his 38th birthday to defeat Kenny Robertson last month. And “Yes!” Diego Sanchez is returning to lightweight where he once challenged for the title despite three consecutive Fight of the Night bonuses as a welterweight that surely helped his bank account.
The transition isn’t always guaranteed to go smoothly, let’s not forget Shields sucking wind pretty hard when he debuted in the UFC at 170 pounds against Martin Kampmann, a problem he never quite got over and a major reason he’s returning to 185. But with Shields seeming more comfortable at a heavier weight and Lawrence being young enough that 10 pounds off his smaller frame shouldn’t be a problem, don’t expect growing pains from either one.
Whether those two enter the cage at their physical peak or not, you can bet that Holloway and Herman are ready to provide stiff tests for both guys as they begin their journeys in new weight classes. Nobody wants to be the sacrificial lamb of a coming out party and a Holloway or Herman victory can immediately have the two division changers questioning their decision to relocate.
Or, of course, Lawrence and Shields could flourish making mere footnotes out of the other two on their successful run in a new division.
Tune into UFC 150 on Saturday night to find out!
Ryan Young is the lead reporter for mma360.ca and a new sportsnet.ca guest blogger.
