Ben Rothwell: Smaller Heavyweights Need to Cut to 205

Ben Rothwell is two weeks away from making his UFC debut in a heavyweight fight with Cain Velasquez at UFC 104, and when I asked him this week how much he weighs, he said he's at 265 pounds, the heavyweight limit. It's a sign of how much the UFC's heavyweight division has changed that 265 doesn't seem all that big.

There was a time when a 265-pound heavyweight was considered huge, but today Rothwell isn't considered one of the sport's enormous heavyweights. The UFC 106 heavyweight title bout will feature two fighters, Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, who have to cut to get down to 265, and the upcoming Strikeforce show on CBS features Antonio Silva, who weighed in at 267 for his last fight, and Brett Rogers, whose weight balloons up close to 300 pounds in between training camps. That's the reality of the heavyweight class in MMA today: Most of the fighters are built like defensive ends, not linebackers.

Still, when I asked Rothwell if he thought there should be another weight class between 205 and 265 pounds, he said he didn't know if there was enough talent in the heavyweight class to justify splitting it in half. Instead, Rothwell said to me and says in the above video, the smaller heavyweights would just be better off cutting to light heavyweight.

"These smaller heavyweights, I don't know if they're going to be able to cut it much longer," Rothwell said. "I think a lot of these guys are going to start cutting to 205."

I think they are, too. The best heavyweights in MMA history -- Fedor Emeliaenenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture, Mirko Cro Cop -- fought in the 230-pound range, but the bigger men represent the future of the heavyweight division.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-10-2009 @ 10:12AM

easy7179 said...

if there continues to be an influx of huge guys getting into the sport and the numbers justify it, i wouldn't mind seeing a restructuring of the weight classes. possibly, 186-200 cruiserweight; 201-225 lightheavyweight; 226-265 heavyweight.

Awesome said...

Agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10-10-2009 @ 11:26AM

M13 said...

What a coincidence...

10-10-2009 @ 12:31PM

k_wingo said...

cut this from my blog:

5---Cruiserweight = 176 – 190
[Anderson Silva, Marquardt, Wandelai Silva, Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz,

6---Light heavyweight = 191 – 210
[Machida, Rampage, Couture, Mark Coleman, Kimbo Slice, Shogun, Anderson Silva, Belfort, Rashad Evans, Lil. Nog]

7---Heavyweight = 211 – 240
[Fedor, Arlovski, Mir, Dos Santos, Werdum, Gilbert Yvel, Jeff Monson, Mousasi, King Mo, Cain Velasquez, Big Nog]

8---Super heavyweight = 241-265
[Brock Lesnar, Brett Rogers, Josh Barnett, A. Overeem, Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Ben Rothwell, Dos Santos, Kongo, Big Nog]

9---Bigweight = 275-unlimited

10-12-2009 @ 10:22AM

Eric said...

Tito and Chuck have always been MUCH to large to cut to 190.

10-10-2009 @ 12:37PM

More weight classes equals more belts, which is a good thing. There are soooo many fighters these days from all over the world. Adding new weight and revised weight divisions can be economical for mma and the UFC. Do it Dana White...of whom I've grown not to be a big fan of.

10-10-2009 @ 2:12PM

richardbikle said...

I really wouldnt mind light heavy weight going to 215.

10-10-2009 @ 3:07PM

David Delnegro said...

i agree with Easy, add one more weight class and itll be fine. otherwise you risk going the way of boxing

10-12-2009 @ 10:20AM

There is really nothing wrong with the weight divisions ...

Fighters such as Cro-cop & Couture, should have been fighting at light heavyweight all along. More divisions will make it increasingly difficult to get the fights we want ... more non-title catchweight fights, etc.

Bottomline - fighters less than 225, should learn to diet and cut weight so they can fight at 205. Anyone above 225 is a big boy, and should be able to fight the other big boys. Just my opinion.