5 MMA fighters who fought in the most weight divisions

#3 Joe Riggs – Heavyweight (206lbs and above), Light-heavyweight (205lbs), Middleweight (185lbs), Welterweight (170lbs)

Weighing 185lbs here, it was hard to believe Joe Riggs once weighed over 300lbs

Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs only fought in two weight divisions in the UFC – Middleweight and Welterweight – and largely interchanged between the two throughout his two UFC stints, but he makes this list as his pre-UFC career saw him largely feature in the Heavyweight and Light-heavyweight divisions.

At one point weighing upwards of 300lbs, Riggs fought notable large Heavyweights such as Travis Fulton and ‘Cabbage’ Correira on the regional scene, putting together a record of 13-3 before signing with the WEC promotion in 2004.

He made the drop to 205lbs for the first time with his new promotion but lost his debut to Alex Stiebling. Three wins followed before Riggs decided to drop even further – to 185lbs – and another two wins led him to the UFC, where he defeated Joe Doerksen in his promotional debut.

Now firmly entrenched as a UFC fighter, 2005 saw Riggs make the drop to 170lbs – something that would’ve seemed unthinkable just two years prior. He defeated Chris Lytle in his divisional debut, but then missed weight for a title fight with Matt Hughes, suggesting that the drop in weight was a move too far.

Riggs steadied the ship in 2006, though – remaining at 170lbs for three fights with a loss to Mike Swick being his only foray back up to 185lbs. A loss to Diego Sanchez ended his initial UFC run, and ‘Diesel’ headed back to the regional scene where he continued to move between divisions, even taking a lone fight back up at 205lbs in 2012.

2014 saw his UFC return – at 170lbs – but two losses sent him back up to 185lbs, where he went 1-1 before being released by the UFC again. He’s since fought at 170lbs, 185lbs and 205lbs on the regional scene.

Despite never quite reaching the potential his coaches suggested he had, Riggs’s drop from over 300lbs all the way to 170lbs remains one of the most impressive weight losses in MMA history.