5 UFC fighters who benefitted from a switch in weight class

Almost every division in the UFC is a shark tank. Fighters tend to switch weight classes for a variety of reasons in MMA. Some might prefer moving to a higher division to avoid difficult weight cuts or moving to a lower division to gain a size advantage, while others switch divisions in search of better stylistic matchups.

Most recently, the likes of Kevin Holland and Dan Hooker have hinted at moving one weight class down as they look to get their UFC careers back on track.

Dan Hooker, who once competed in the featherweight division, opted to move to the lightweight division in 2017 and plied his trade at 155 lbs thereafter. However, ‘The Hangman’ recently revealed that he is targeting a return to the 145 lbs division. He also alluded to the advancements in the science of weight cutting and the state-of-the-art facilities on offer at the UFC Performance Institute.

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Hooker said:

“From when I was there in the past and to where I am now, just obviously the science and the people that are a part of the UFC, like Charles [Stull] ‘The Angry Dietician,’ the fight dietician that I work very closely with, and Clint [Wattenberg] and the people at the PI [UFC Performance Institute] have all been — it’s been smooth sailing. That took me all of two weeks to get down and cut to that weight, so if I can do it in two weeks on holiday, you give me a fight, that’s a whole different story.”

Watch Dan Hooker’s full interview on The MMA Hour below:

That being said, we thought we’d take a look at five UFC fighters who have benefitted from moving to a different weight class. We won’t be considering one-time moves or fighters chasing double-champ status for the sake of it, like Conor McGregor’s move to 155 lbs to take on Eddie Alvarez (after which he went on to lose his next three bouts in the division) or Georges St-Pierre’s move to 185 lbs to fight Michael Bisping.

Rather, we considered UFC fighters who have enjoyed a career resurgence thanks to a switch in weight class. Perhaps they were enduring a turbulent run in another division and opted to go up or down a weight class in order to save their career, or they weren’t getting the notoriety they wanted in a particular division. A switch in weight class opens up a whole new chapter in a fighter’s career.

Honorable mentions include Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Jared Cannonier, Charles Oliveira and Robert Whittaker. Let’s take a look at five UFC fighters who have changed the course of their career thanks to a change in weight class.

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#5. Jorge Masvidal's move to the UFC welterweight division

Jorge Masvidal has been in the UFC for a very long time. After joining the promotion in 2013 as part of the UFC’s acquisition of Strikeforce, Masvidal competed in the lightweight division for a few years. He endured a tumultuous run in the lightweight division, picking up losses to Rustam Khabilov and Al Iaquinta, and opted to move up to welterweight soon after.

‘Gamebred’ infamously struggled with the weight-cut, as depicted in a video posted to his official YouTube channel.

You can watch the video below:

Since moving to the welterweight division, Masvidal has enjoyed a much better run. The Miami native made his way into the top 10 in the rankings before taking a year-long hiatus from the sport. Upon his return to the UFC octagon, Masvidal emerged as a new fighter altogether.

He returned to action against Darren Till in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in London. He silenced the crowd by knocking the Englishman out cold in devastating fashion. It was his next bout, however, that shot Masvidal into superstardom.

‘Gamebred’ was booked to fight Ben Askren at UFC 239. Famously, he knocked the outspoken wrestler out just 5 seconds into the bout with a flying knee heard around the world.

Masvidal emerged as one of the biggest draws in the sport after the viral 5-second knockout. Subsequently, he took on fellow fan-favorite and superstar Nate Diaz for the symbolic BMF belt at Madison Square Garden in New York City. ‘Gamebred’ pieced up Diaz for three rounds before the doctor was forced to stop the fight.

Despite Masvidal’s recent shortcomings against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, the switch to welterweight changed the course of his career and life forever. It saw him evolve from being a solid fighter on the roster to one of the biggest names and best-paid athletes in the sport.

#4. Dustin Poirier's move to the UFC lightweight division

Dustin Poirier, much like his teammate Jorge Masvidal, competed in an unnatural weight class in the UFC for many years before finding his true home. ‘The Diamond’ was a solid fighter in the UFC’s featherweight division, but struggled to make it into the top 5 in the rankings.

While Poirier enjoyed a decent run in the featherweight division, his momentum was halted when he suffered a first-round knockout against Conor McGregor at UFC 178. Many believe that gruelling weight cuts have a negative impact on the durability of one’s chin, and Poirier subsequently moved up the UFC’s 155 lbs division.

Watch Dustin Poirier give his account of why he moved to lightweight below:

Since moving up, Poirier has emerged as one of the best lightweights in the world. He went on an incredible winning streak that saw him eventually compete for gold when he took on then-featherweight champion Max Holloway for the UFC interim lightweight belt. He secured a unanimous decision victory over ‘Blessed’ in the main event of UFC 236, setting himself up for a title-unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Despite coming up short against Nurmagomedov, who has since retired, many believe that Poirier is the best active lightweight in the world. He went on to defeat Dan Hooker in a five-round war before avenging his earlier loss to Conor McGregor by defeating the Irishman back-to-back at UFC 257 and UFC 264 to close out the trilogy.

With the third fight in his trilogy with Conor McGregor ending in anti-climactic fashion, ‘The Notorious’ has been clamoring for a fourth bout with Poirier, handing ‘The Diamond’ yet another high-profile and lucrative opportunity.

Dustin Poirier is set to take on Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 in Las Vegas for the UFC lightweight strap. ‘The Diamond’ is now one of the biggest names in the sport and is an established main event fighter for the remainder of his career.

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#3. Henry Cejudo's move to the UFC bantamweight division

Henry Cejudo is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of combat sports. The Olympic gold medallist transitioned from wrestling to MMA in search of new opportunities. He emerged as one of the best fighters to have ever competed in the UFC octagon.

Cejudo made waves in the MMA community following his split-decision victory over one of the most dominant champions of all time, Demetrious Johnson. Johnson defended his UFC flyweight belt 11 times before eventually losing to Cejudo. As a result of Johnson’s dominance however, there was very little interest in the flyweight division among the fans.

For quite a while, it was rumored that the UFC would scrap the flyweight division as a whole, due to lack of interest in the weight class. There was a bit of intrigue when then-bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw dropped 10 pounds in search of champ-champ status. However, with Cejudo coming out on top in that bout, there weren’t any other marketable matchups to make at 125 lbs.

Dillashaw was later stripped of his bantamweight title after testing positive for PEDs. Cejudo then chose to move up in weight and challenge Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238. Clearly undersized, Cejudo took a beating in the first round, only to turn the tide and finish Moraes later on in the bout to become a two-division champion.

Subsequently, Cejudo took on arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz, at UFC 249. After securing a second round TKO victory, ‘Triple C’ retired and vacated the belt.

Watch his post-fight interview below:

Despite becoming the flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo didn’t gain a lot of notoriety among fans. However, he gained a lot of attention and praise from peers and fans alike after taking a risk and moving up in weight despite the obvious size difference. His ability to finish opponents significantly bigger than him changed public opinion and established Cejudo among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

#2. Valentina Shevchenko's move to the UFC women's flyweight division

Valentina Shevchenko has established herself as one of the best fighters in the UFC in recent years, irrespective of gender. The lifelong martial artist has enjoyed an incredible career so far. The Kyrgyzstani phenom is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, having defended her flyweight title six times.

However, Shevchenko spent almost half her career competing at bantamweight before dropping down to the 125 lbs division. Despite clearly being undersized, ‘Bullet’ emerged as one of the best fighters in the bantamweight division, picking up wins over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena.

In fact, it was Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes who were the clear-cut best fighters in the division. The duo locked horns twice, with Nunes securing a unanimous decision victory in the first and a split-decision in the second. However, many believe Shevchenko should have come out on top in the second bout.

Watch a detailed breakdown of Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 by TheWeasle YouTube channel below:

Shevchenko’s impressive bantamweight run pre-dated the UFC’s flyweight division altogether. When the division was eventually created, she secured a title shot with a win over Priscila Cachoeira and took on Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant title at UFC 231.

Shevchenko has continued to defend her title ever since, and appears to be in no hurry to walk away on top. In an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, she discussed how she has taken little damage in her career so far, and that she intends to continue defending her title for as long as she can. Perhaps a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes is on the cards as well.

Watch Joe Rogan and Valentina Shevchenko discuss her dominance in the flyweight division below:

Watch the full episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Valentina Shevchenko below:

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#1. Daniel Cormier's move to the UFC heavyweight division

Daniel Cormier is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to have ever fought in the UFC. ‘DC’ had competed in the heavyweight division in other promotions outside the UFC. He opted to fight in the promotion’s light heavyweight division after close friend and teammate Cain Velasquez was crowned UFC heavyweight champion.

Uninterested in fighting a close friend, Cormier worked his way towards a title shot in the UFC light heavyweight division with a submission win over Dan Henderson at UFC 173. Subsequently, he took on Jon Jones for the belt at UFC 182, but came up short against the long-reigning champion.

However, Jones was struggling with legal issues outside the octagon and was stripped off his belt soon after. This allowed Cormier to fight for the vacant title against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson at UFC 187 where he came out on top. Upon securing the belt, ‘DC’ defended it two more times before taking on Jones again at UFC 214.

He lost to Jones in their second bout as well, but Jones was stripped once again after testing positive for an illegal metabolite. Cormier was subsequently reinstated as the champion.

Watch Cormier’s reaction to Jones’ positive test on UFC on Fox’s YouTube channel below:

This turned the fans against ‘DC’, with many saying that the former Olympian didn’t deserve champion-status. Despite securing another title-defense against Volkan Oezdemir soon after, Cormier continued to be disregarded by the fans.

Daniel Cormier then opted to move to the heavyweight division and take on Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship. Miocic established himself atop the heavyweight mountain with title defenses against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou.

Miocic was a heavy favorite going into his bout with Cormier, however, he was left stunned when ‘DC’ knocked him out in the very first round.

All of a sudden, the public opinion of Cormier shifted. While Cormier’s exploits in the light heavyweight division were impressive, he was always in the shadow of Jon Jones. The win over Miocic at UFC 226 ensured that his legacy was set in stone forever. He went on to defend his title against Derrick Lewis and shared an iconic trilogy with Miocic before retiring.

Watch Cormier's post-fight interview following his win over Miocic below: