Four New MMA Weight Classes Approved By Combat Sports Commission
Earlier today (Wed. July 26, 2017) the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) codified four new eight classes into the Unified Rules of MMA.
Weight classes at 165 pounds (super lightweight), 175 pounds (super welterweight), 195 pounds (super middleweight) and 225 pounds (cruiserweight) have now beed approved. The welterweight division (170 pounds) will remain within the Unified Rules.
The MMA rules and regulations committee, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), and CSAC executive officer Andy Foster brought the new weight classes to the ABC body for approval as a part of Foster’s 10-point weight-cutting plan.
Although the committee passed the new weight classes last year, there wasn’t enough support from other committees to constitute a vote from the ABC body – until now. Now that the weight classes are now within the Unified Rules of MMA, however, that doesn’t mean major promotions such as the UFC or Bellator need to adopt them just yet, per rules and regulations committee chairman Sean Wheelock (via MMA Fighting):
“Just because cruiserweight now exists doesn’t mean that the UFC or Bellator or anybody else has to put in a cruiserweight division,” said Wheelock. “MMA promotions run their own belts — you can do a title at a 162.2 pounds if you want.”
Andy Foster believes that big promotions will begin to adopt the new weight classes once they begin being used in the amateur and regional levels:
“When California club shows and Texas club shows and others have 165- and 175-pound divisions and fighters are locked into those, then I think we’ll see a change,” Foster said. “It could take four or five years, maybe shorter than that.”
