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Anthony Smith believes that the UFC would benefit from adding a few new weight classes in addition to making a slight change to one of the existing ones.
“Lionheart” was on a three-fight winning streak before being stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in their main event bout in July. The result of that bout is officially a second round TKO, which doesn’t tell the full story of Smith suffering a serious leg injury during the fight that contributed to the eventual finish.
Smith was scheduled to return to action in March against Jamahal Hill, but a whirlwind of activity at the top of the light heavyweight division saw the 34-year-old end up as the odd man out when Hill was booked to face Glover Teixeira for the promotion’s vacant title at UFC 283.
Jamahal Hill was pulled from a fight with Smith to face Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. (Zuffa LLC)
The former title challenger was at least tabbed to serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 283 main event, but unfortunately Smith failed to make weight for the first time in his UFC career. Hill went on to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 283 with a dominant performance over Texeira, who retired after the loss.
“Lionheart” has kept busy outside of the cage by hosting the podcast Believe You Me with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, and on a recent episode Smith shared some thoughts on the UFC’s current weight classes while responding to fan questions.
“I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t be so stuck on 160/165, but if you were to do like a 165, 175, 185, 195. I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions, but if I had to just pick one I’d love to see no weight cap on heavyweight.”
“We Cut Out A Pretty Big Chunk Of Guys”
Hearing Smith argue in favor of a new weight class like 195 lbs. likely comes from firsthand experience, as the 34-year-old previously competed at middleweight before moving up 20 lbs. to begin his current run as a light heavyweight.
Bisping actually went the opposite direction in his career by dropping down to middleweight, but the former UFC champion was more interested in expressing some surprise at Smith’s suggestion for the heavyweight division.
“The Count” claimed that eliminating the 265 lbs. limit on heavyweight wouldn’t realistically expand the weight class all that much, but Smith argued that there’s plenty of talent available.
A change in weight class saw Smith challenge for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I think there’s a lot of them. I think that we miss out on a lot of athletic, huge, really, really good guys by capping it at 265. Think about this, NFL lineman, there’s a lot of them guys that are 6’8”, 6’9’, 300 lbs., and move well and are super athletic and fast and those guys just can’t make 265 lbs. I think we cut out a pretty big chunk of guys that would be really crazy, large heavyweights.”
The UFC’s roster already boasts some impressive heavyweights even with the current 265 lbs. limit in place, but the promotion recently rocked the MMA world when it was announced that the division’s champion Francis Ngannou had been released from his contract.
What do you think of Smith’s proposal that the UFC should add a few new weight classes and also get rid of the current weight cap for the heavyweight division?
Anthony Smith believes that the UFC would benefit from adding a few new weight classes in addition to making a slight change to one of the existing ones.
“Lionheart” was on a three-fight winning streak before being stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in their main event bout in July. The result of that bout is officially a second round TKO, which doesn’t tell the full story of Smith suffering a serious leg injury during the fight that contributed to the eventual finish.
Smith was scheduled to return to action in March against Jamahal Hill, but a whirlwind of activity at the top of the light heavyweight division saw the 34-year-old end up as the odd man out when Hill was booked to face Glover Teixeira for the promotion’s vacant title at UFC 283.
Jamahal Hill was pulled from a fight with Smith to face Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. (Zuffa LLC)
The former title challenger was at least tabbed to serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 283 main event, but unfortunately Smith failed to make weight for the first time in his UFC career. Hill went on to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 283 with a dominant performance over Texeira, who retired after the loss.
“Lionheart” has kept busy outside of the cage by hosting the podcast Believe You Me with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, and on a recent episode Smith shared some thoughts on the UFC’s current weight classes while responding to fan questions.
“I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t be so stuck on 160/165, but if you were to do like a 165, 175, 185, 195. I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions, but if I had to just pick one I’d love to see no weight cap on heavyweight.”
“We Cut Out A Pretty Big Chunk Of Guys”
Hearing Smith argue in favor of a new weight class like 195 lbs. likely comes from firsthand experience, as the 34-year-old previously competed at middleweight before moving up 20 lbs. to begin his current run as a light heavyweight.
Bisping actually went the opposite direction in his career by dropping down to middleweight, but the former UFC champion was more interested in expressing some surprise at Smith’s suggestion for the heavyweight division.
“The Count” claimed that eliminating the 265 lbs. limit on heavyweight wouldn’t realistically expand the weight class all that much, but Smith argued that there’s plenty of talent available.
A change in weight class saw Smith challenge for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I think there’s a lot of them. I think that we miss out on a lot of athletic, huge, really, really good guys by capping it at 265. Think about this, NFL lineman, there’s a lot of them guys that are 6’8”, 6’9’, 300 lbs., and move well and are super athletic and fast and those guys just can’t make 265 lbs. I think we cut out a pretty big chunk of guys that would be really crazy, large heavyweights.”
[/quote]
The UFC’s roster already boasts some impressive heavyweights even with the current 265 lbs. limit in place, but the promotion recently rocked the MMA world when it was announced that the division’s champion Francis Ngannou had been released from his contract.
What do you think of Smith’s proposal that the UFC should add a few new weight classes and also get rid of the current weight cap for the heavyweight division?
Click here to view the article.
“Lionheart” was on a three-fight winning streak before being stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in their main event bout in July. The result of that bout is officially a second round TKO, which doesn’t tell the full story of Smith suffering a serious leg injury during the fight that contributed to the eventual finish.
Smith was scheduled to return to action in March against Jamahal Hill, but a whirlwind of activity at the top of the light heavyweight division saw the 34-year-old end up as the odd man out when Hill was booked to face Glover Teixeira for the promotion’s vacant title at UFC 283.
Jamahal Hill was pulled from a fight with Smith to face Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. (Zuffa LLC)
The former title challenger was at least tabbed to serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 283 main event, but unfortunately Smith failed to make weight for the first time in his UFC career. Hill went on to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 283 with a dominant performance over Texeira, who retired after the loss.
“Lionheart” has kept busy outside of the cage by hosting the podcast Believe You Me with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, and on a recent episode Smith shared some thoughts on the UFC’s current weight classes while responding to fan questions.
“I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t be so stuck on 160/165, but if you were to do like a 165, 175, 185, 195. I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions, but if I had to just pick one I’d love to see no weight cap on heavyweight.”
“We Cut Out A Pretty Big Chunk Of Guys”
Hearing Smith argue in favor of a new weight class like 195 lbs. likely comes from firsthand experience, as the 34-year-old previously competed at middleweight before moving up 20 lbs. to begin his current run as a light heavyweight.
Bisping actually went the opposite direction in his career by dropping down to middleweight, but the former UFC champion was more interested in expressing some surprise at Smith’s suggestion for the heavyweight division.
“The Count” claimed that eliminating the 265 lbs. limit on heavyweight wouldn’t realistically expand the weight class all that much, but Smith argued that there’s plenty of talent available.
A change in weight class saw Smith challenge for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I think there’s a lot of them. I think that we miss out on a lot of athletic, huge, really, really good guys by capping it at 265. Think about this, NFL lineman, there’s a lot of them guys that are 6’8”, 6’9’, 300 lbs., and move well and are super athletic and fast and those guys just can’t make 265 lbs. I think we cut out a pretty big chunk of guys that would be really crazy, large heavyweights.”
The UFC’s roster already boasts some impressive heavyweights even with the current 265 lbs. limit in place, but the promotion recently rocked the MMA world when it was announced that the division’s champion Francis Ngannou had been released from his contract.
What do you think of Smith’s proposal that the UFC should add a few new weight classes and also get rid of the current weight cap for the heavyweight division?
Anthony Smith believes that the UFC would benefit from adding a few new weight classes in addition to making a slight change to one of the existing ones.
“Lionheart” was on a three-fight winning streak before being stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in their main event bout in July. The result of that bout is officially a second round TKO, which doesn’t tell the full story of Smith suffering a serious leg injury during the fight that contributed to the eventual finish.
Smith was scheduled to return to action in March against Jamahal Hill, but a whirlwind of activity at the top of the light heavyweight division saw the 34-year-old end up as the odd man out when Hill was booked to face Glover Teixeira for the promotion’s vacant title at UFC 283.
The former title challenger was at least tabbed to serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 283 main event, but unfortunately Smith failed to make weight for the first time in his UFC career. Hill went on to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 283 with a dominant performance over Texeira, who retired after the loss.
“Lionheart” has kept busy outside of the cage by hosting the podcast Believe You Me with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, and on a recent episode Smith shared some thoughts on the UFC’s current weight classes while responding to fan questions.
“I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t be so stuck on 160/165, but if you were to do like a 165, 175, 185, 195. I’d like to see a couple new weight divisions, but if I had to just pick one I’d love to see no weight cap on heavyweight.”
“We Cut Out A Pretty Big Chunk Of Guys”
Hearing Smith argue in favor of a new weight class like 195 lbs. likely comes from firsthand experience, as the 34-year-old previously competed at middleweight before moving up 20 lbs. to begin his current run as a light heavyweight.
Bisping actually went the opposite direction in his career by dropping down to middleweight, but the former UFC champion was more interested in expressing some surprise at Smith’s suggestion for the heavyweight division.
“The Count” claimed that eliminating the 265 lbs. limit on heavyweight wouldn’t realistically expand the weight class all that much, but Smith argued that there’s plenty of talent available.
“I think there’s a lot of them. I think that we miss out on a lot of athletic, huge, really, really good guys by capping it at 265. Think about this, NFL lineman, there’s a lot of them guys that are 6’8”, 6’9’, 300 lbs., and move well and are super athletic and fast and those guys just can’t make 265 lbs. I think we cut out a pretty big chunk of guys that would be really crazy, large heavyweights.”
[/quote]
The UFC’s roster already boasts some impressive heavyweights even with the current 265 lbs. limit in place, but the promotion recently rocked the MMA world when it was announced that the division’s champion Francis Ngannou had been released from his contract.
What do you think of Smith’s proposal that the UFC should add a few new weight classes and also get rid of the current weight cap for the heavyweight division?
Click here to view the article.
