UFC Flyweight Division: Cruiserweight Would Have Been Better Addition

With Dana White's recent announcement of the newly added 125-pound flyweight division and its subsequent four-man tournament to crown a champion. The MMA world is now buzzing over the excitement that the division will potentially bring to the organization.

The excitement is understandable. The recently added 135- and 145-pound weight classes have been a welcome addition, giving us some of the best fights of the year.

Presumably the new 125-pound flyweight division will do the same.

But is it the right move for the UFC?

One thing that has separated MMA from the almost-dead sport of boxing is that with only the limited amount of weight classes, there aren't as many champions—so being a champion actually means something.

Including the new flyweight division, there are now four weight division that are only separated by 10 pounds a piece. Does the UFC really need this many divisions for the lower-weight fighters.

White and the UFC have got to where they are today by being great innovators within the industry, why not blaze their own trail when it comes to weight classes?

A better solution would have been to combine the bantamweight and flyweight divisions by creating a 130-pound weight class. This would force the larger 135ers to compete at 145 and still allow the smaller 135ers to compete at a better weight class for them.

If the UFC wants to create yet another weight class, why not add a cruiserweight division?
Demetrious-johnson_crop_340x234 Demetrious Johnson, one of the new flyweights, has done well as a bantamweight

After Jon Jones' UFC 140 victory over Lyoto Machida. Critics have claimed that he only wins due to his incredible size advantage over most light heavyweights. While Jones doesn't actually cut that much weight to get into his weight division as some fighters, weight cutting has always been a controversial issue in the sport.

Fighters such as Anthony "Rumble" Johnson can walk around at weights of up to 50 pounds above their weight division. While Johnson recently moved to middleweight—a more natural weight class for him—he may have made that move earlier if there was a cruiserweight division.

A cruiserweight division would likely be around 225. Twenty pounds above the 205 division and 40 pounds below the 265-pound weight limit for heavyweight.

The immediate drawback would be the already-thin heavyweight division losing fighters, but this move would allow the heavyweight limit to be raised to something like 280—allowing larger athletes who may not be able to make 265 a chance to make it to the sport's largest promotion.

If these changes were to occur, the weight classes would look like this:

Bantamweights: 130

Featherweights: 145

Lightweights: 155

Welterweights: 170

Middleweights: 185

Light Heavyweights: 205

Cruiserweights: 225

Heavyweights: 280

Eight different weight division that could be competitively filled. The addition of the cruiserweight division could create a trickle-down effect that would allow fighters to fight at a more natural weight without fear of running into much larger opponents.

As the sport of MMA grows, more athletes of all sizes and builds will begin to pick up the sport. The UFC would be doing themselves a favor by creating weight classes that reflects the future of the sport.