5 UFC fighters who benefitted from a switch in weight class

#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: