5 UFC fighters who benefitted from a switch in weight class

#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.