Mixed martial arts weight classes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mixed martial arts weight classes are
weight classes Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...
that pertain to the sport of
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
.


Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts

Prior to state sanctioning, weight classes were not mandatory since the competitions were held without the approval of the athletic commissions. For instance, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
introduced two weight classes at ''
UFC 12 ''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later releas ...
'': heavyweight, which grouped competitors above 200 lb (91 kg), and lightweight, which grouped competitors under 200 lb. Weight classes underwent many changes in the ensuing years, but the ability of promotions to autonomously decide their own weight classes eventually disappeared after athletic commissions began supervising mixed martial arts. In 2000, the
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very di ...
were codified by the
New Jersey State Athletic Commission The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (SACB) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, second ...
. The
California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events. ...
had worked extensively on regulation, but their sanctioning of MMA was not implemented due to state governmental issues surrounding the process.New Jersey Commission Corrects Mainstream UFC Stories
Ivan's Blog, formerly posted on MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
California officially sanctioned MMA on December 28, 2005, using the ruleset it helped devise five years previously.
. martialarts.about.com. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
Since then, to create uniformity, all state commissions in the United States that regulate mixed martial arts have assimilated these rules into their existing
unarmed combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...
competition rules and statutes. For a promotion to hold mixed martial arts events in a state-sanctioned venue, the promotion must abide by the state athletic commission's body of rules for weight limits. The Unified Rules designate limits for fourteen different weight classes in mixed martial arts; all definitions and measurements are in pounds. The strawweight class was added in 2015. The super lightweight, super welterweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight classes were added in July 2017.


Outside the United States

With no state or government laws regarding weight class restrictions, organizations in other countries are free to schedule bouts with little regard for weight differential. However, due to the increasingly competitive and international nature of the sport, weight limits have been set by the promotions themselves, usually in alignment with the Unified Rules, as maintaining standard weight classes is seen as fair and standard for all competitors. Singapore-based
ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...
banned weight-cutting by dehydration in December 2015 and holds fights based on a competitor's "walking weight", rather than pre-fight weigh-ins. The change took place after 21-year-old Yang Jian Bing died due to dehydration by weight-cutting earlier that month. The new system has been well-received by athletes and other stakeholders in the MMA industry.


Women

Weight limits in women's MMA mostly follow the Unified Rules' limits, but organizations that recognize women's championships usually only have titles at the lower end of the table. UFC, for example, recognizes women's titles in the strawweight,
flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
,
bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
and
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
classes. Some organizations that recognize women's championships also sanction a separate
atomweight Atomweight (also referred to as light minimumweight, junior strawweight, junior mini-flyweight and pinweight) is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In women's boxing and junior amateur boxing pinweight is, or has been, a Weight class (boxing), ...
title with a limit.


See also

* Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu weight classes *
Weight class (boxing) In boxing, a weight class is a measurement weight range for boxers. The lower limit of a weight class is equal to the upper weight limit of the class below it. The top class, with no upper limit, is called heavyweight in professional boxing and ...
*
Kickboxing weight classes Kickboxing weight classes are weight classes that pertain to the sport of kickboxing. Organizations will often adopt their own rules for weight limits, causing ambiguity in the sport regarding how a weight class should be defined. For a variety of ...
*
Taekwondo weight classes In taekwondo, a weight class is a standardized weight range for taekwondo practitioners. The upper weight limit for each class is the maxiumum weight for that class. The minimum weight for each class must be above the maximum weight for the next lo ...
*
Wrestling weight classes In most styles of wrestling, opponents are matched based on weight class. Olympic and international weight classes In international competition, men's freestyle wrestling, men's Greco-Roman wrestling, and female wrestling utilize following weigh ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mixed Martial Arts Weight Classes