Tapology Site Search
Lightweight Fighters
Under the Nevada State Athletic Comission, as well as the New Jersey State Athletic Comission-derived Unified Rules of Combat, the modern MMA lightweight division runs from 146 to 155 pounds (66.22-70.31 kilograms, or 10.43-11.07 stone). Boxing's "lightweight" class, by contrast, is significantly lighter, with a 135 pound weight limit in place since at least 1886. MMA's now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships organized its lightweight class with a 160 lb. weight limit; nearly all of its still-active fighters have been absorbed into the 155 pound class, with only a few opting to move up to welterweight (170 lbs.).
Today, the UFC's lightweight division is a thriving weight class, with an extremely deep talent pool and continual new waves of skilled young combatants. This was not always the case, however. The division developed in fits and starts. Jens Pulver was its first recognized champion, crowned in 2001 at UFC 30 (at a weight limit of 150 lbs.). The weight division in its current form was introduced at UFC 31 in May of 2001, when BJ Penn stopped Joey Gilbert in the first round via strikes in the UFC's first ever 155 pound weight limit fight. Pulver then defeated Penn to retain the title (at 155) at UFC 35 six months later. The division then fell into a period of disuse. Pulver was stripped of the title after contract disputes with management forced him from the organization. Penn, meanwhile, fought Caol Uno to a draw for the vacant crown in 2003, failing to resolve the championship vacancy, before leaving the organization as well.
Zuffa finally revived the languishing weight division beginning at UFC 64 in October of 2006, when "The Muscle Shark," Sean Sherk, fighting for the first time at lightweight after stepping down from 170, defeated Kenny Florian in a bloody five round battle of attrition to be crowned the new UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk defended the title successfully against Hermes Franca at UFC 73 in July 2007 before losing the title, in effect, twice: first by being stripped of it due to a failed drug test, and second, in the cage to newly crowned champ BJ Penn, who beat Sherk by knockout in an informal unification bout of sorts. Penn lost the crown decisively to newcomer Frankie Edgar, who retained it even more dominantly in a rematch. But for the time being, Penn remains the UFC's longest reigning and most decorated 155 pound champion, with a total of three successful title defenses.
While Pulver, Sherk, Penn and Edgar count among the UFC's greatest-ever lightweights, many of the world's best make their home outside of Zuffa. Other world-class lightweight fighters include Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson, Eddie Alvarez, and Shinya Aoki, who have fought in Strikeforce, Dream, Bellator and elsewhere.
Although the lightweight division spans only ten pounds (heavier divisions span progressively larger amounts), its weight parameters are deceptive. Prior to the WEC's merger with the UFC, there was substantially more money to be made in MMA's lightweight division than there was beneath it at featherweight (145). As a result, a portion of the UFC's lightweight combatants have traditionally cut substantial amounts to get down to 155, while another portion was bulking up significantly to get up to 155. The unique dynamic makes for interesting tactical battles of speed versus power not seen in any other division, except perhaps heavyweight.
The world lightweight division was turned on its head in late 2010 by Zuffa LLC’s election to fold its WEC lightweight division into the UFC. Standout WEC lightweights such as Benson Henderson, Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone were welcomed into the promotion, as was the WEC’s last and reigning champion, Anthony Pettis, who took the title from Henderson in the promotion’s final event. By folding the two divisions into one, Zuffa advanced its goal of allowing the best fighters in the world to fight one another as often as possible, but it also forced some of the WEC’s lesser-known lightweights out of the promotion.
