5 active UFC fighters who competed in three different weight classes

During the early days of the UFC, fighters like BJ Penn and Kenny Florian regularly competed in multiple weight classes. However, those days are, for the most part, in the past now. Fighters tend to focus their time achieving greatness in their natural weight classes, only then making the move up or down.

Despite this being the new norm, there are a select few UFC fighters to harken back to the days of Florian and Penn. In the following list, we detail five currently active UFC fighters who have competed in a minimum of three weight classes.

Former featherweights turned lightweights Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker have both hinted at potential moves to welterweight in the future. Therefore, they may well be contenders for an updated iteration of this list.

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#5. Tristan Connelly - UFC welterweight & featherweight, Rise FC lightweight

Tristan Connelly is only two fights into the UFC, but he has already competed at both welterweight and featherweight. He has also previously competed in the lightweight division outside of the UFC.

For regional promotion Rise FC, Connelly faced off against D'Juan Owens at 155lbs. This was the fight that got 'Boondock' signed to the UFC as he finished Owens in the fifth round.

Connolley made his UFC debut at welterweight, stepping in on short notice against the athletic specimen that is Michel Pereira. Connolley was considerably undersized and a heavy underdog going into the fight. However, he weathered the early storm, utilized his wrestling, and ground out an impressive decision victory.

Connolley competed for a second time in the UFC in April. This time he faced off against Pat Sabatini, at featherweight. He fought hard but Sabatini ultimately had too much in his arsenal for Connolley, and picked up a unanimous decision victory. Connelley looks likely to continue his career at featherweight, although he does not yet have another fight booked.

#4. Ode Osbourne - UFC featherweight, bantamweight & flyweight

Ode 'The Jamaican Sensation' Osbourne has only competed in the UFC three times. However, each fight has been in a different weight class, with mixed levels of success.

Osbourne made his UFC debut at bantamweight, where he fought veteran fighter Brian Kelleher. Whilst Osbourne started well, he was soon caught out by Kelleher's vicious gullitoine.

The pandemic made it hard for Osbourne to make a quick bounce back return to the UFC, with two fights being canceled. However, he eventually got a matchup, this time at featherweight against Jerome Rivera. Osbourne showed just what he has to offer the UFC, knocking Rivera out with a stunning head kick.

After this fight, Osbourne announced that he would be moving down to flyweight, which he stated was his natural weight class. Unfortunately, his flyweight debut did not go to plan, suffering a TKO loss to Manel Kape after being clipped by a flying knee.

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#3. Jared Cannonier - UFC heavyweight, light heavyweight & middleweight

Jared Cannonier initially came into the UFC as a heavyweight, although it was immediately clear it was not his natural weight class. A debut loss to Shawn Jordan was followed by an impressive first round KO victory against Cyril Asker. Cannonier then made the decision to move down to light heavyweight.

At 205lbs, Cannonier picked up two victories against Ion Cutelaba and Nick Roehrick. However, he also dropped several losses to some very high level opposition such as Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes.

These losses prompted Cannonier to make yet another weight change, moving down to the UFC's middleweight division. At middleweight, Cannonier has had great success. A three-fight win streak over David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson was enough to earn Cannonier a number one contender shot against former champion Robert Whittaker.

Unfortunately for Cannonier, it was Whittaker who came out on top that day. He is now set to rematch Kelvin Gastelum in an attempt to reassert himself in the middleweight title picture.

#2. Frankie Edgar - UFC lightweight, featherweight & bantamweight

One of the all-time UFC greats, Frankie Edgar has not only competed in three different divisions, but has been consistently competitive in all. Now a 24-9 fight veteran, Frankie Edgar made his UFC debut all the way back in 2007.

Initially competing in the UFC's lightweight division, Edgar fought his way to a UFC title shot, where he got the upset victory over BJ Penn. After defending his belt multiple times, Edgar finally fell short in a title defense against Benson Henderson.

Soon after, Edgar made the move down to featherweight, where he once again fought for UFC gold. Unfortunately, this was the era of Jose Aldo's complete dominance of the 145lb division. Edgar came up short, but he would go on to have moderate success at featherweight, defeating the likes of Charles Oliveira, Yair Rodriguez and Chad Mendes.

However, after losing out on another shot at the belt, as well as a failed go at claiming the interim title, Edgar made the move down to bantamweight. He has only fought twice at 135lbs so far, defeating Pedro Munhoz via split decision and then being brutally knocked out by Cory Sandhagen.

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#1. Conor McGregor - UFC welterweight, lightweight & featherweight

Who else could be number one except 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor? The Irishman came to the UFC already a two-division champion at Cage Warriors, and tore through the UFC's featherweight division. A title fight against Jose Aldo soon ensued, and McGregor did not let the now former champ out of the first minute.

McGregor was then set to fight for the lightweight belt. After Rafael dos Anjos dropped out with only days to go, Nate Diaz stepped in on the condition the fight be at welterweight. From there, UFC fans were treated to one of the best sporting rivalries in recent memory. Both McGregor and Diaz picked up a win over the other.

McGregor then made his long awaited UFC lightweight debut, knocking out Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight belt. However, since that fight, the Irishman has failed to continue competing with the same consistency, and is currently coming off back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier. Now may well be the time for him to settle the Diaz rivalry once and for all.