UFC

What are the different male and female weight class divisions in the UFC?

Published by

The UFC is split into different weight class divisions for the male and female fighters

The UFC might be the biggest MMA promotion in the world and they have some of the best stars on the planet.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Amanda Nunes, Jon Jones, Henry Cejudo, Conor McGregor, Valentina Shevchenko, Zhang Weili, Stipe Miocic and a ton of others are stars in the business.

Israel Adesanya talks during a press conference for UFC 248 at Toyota Center on February 07, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The UFC also has one of the biggest roster of MMA stars on their books, but that is for good measure too.

Thankfully, all their stars are split into various weight classes. There is an upper and lower limit for most weight classes in the UFC and many have jumped up or gone down a division or two too.

Nunes, McGregor and Cejudo are some of the biggest stars to have done that, and they have been successful too.

However, there are several weight classes in the UFC and that might be confusing. So here is a breakdown of the divisions in the UFC for men and women.

Women’s weight class divisions

The women’s weight class division features just four divisions, but it has some great fighters on the list.

Dana White interviews Amanda Nunes after a UFC fight (Getty)

Nunes is the standout name in the list as she is considered as one of the greatest female athletes in MMA history.

The Brazilian also holds belts in two classes

Weight class name Min weight (In lb) Upper limit (in lb) Current champion
Strawweight 115 Zhang Weili
Flyweight 116 125 Valentina Shevchenko
Bantamweight 126 135 Amanda Nunes
Featherweight 136 145 Amanda Nunes

Men’s weight class divisions

The men have more divisions than the women, but that is due to their greater weight too. There are eight divisions split across the board and each of them, barring the Flyweight division has a champion.

Related Post
Henry Cejudo looks on in the first round of the UFC Flyweight Title Bout against Demetrious Johnson during UFC 227 (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)

The Flyweight title was vacant after Cejudo became a two-division champion and decided to vacate the title.

However, Deiveson Figueiredo defeated Josephy Benavidez to win the gold. Cejudo’s retirement from the UFC also affected the Bantamweight title, and Petr Yan won the crown after defeating Jose Aldo.

However, Yan lost it to Aljamain Sterling via a DQ at UFC 259.

Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Stipe Miocic and Khabib Nurmagomedov are the other champions in the list, though Khabib retired from the UFC recently and there is a doubt on who gets the belt next.

Weight class name Min weight (In lb) Upper limit (in lb) Current champion
Flyweight 125 Deiveson Figueiredo
Bantamweight 126 135 Aljamain Sterling
Featherweight 136 145 Alexander Volkanovski
Lightweight 146 155 Khabib Nurmagomedov (retired)
Welterweight 156 170 Kamaru Usman
Middleweight 171 185 Israel Adesanya
Light Heavyweight 186 205 Jan Blachowicz
Heavyweight 206 265 Stipe Miocic

There are a few weight classes which are available in other promotions. Super Lightweight, Super Welterweight, Super Middleweight, Cruiserweight and Super Heavyweight are not used in the UFC.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov gives a press conference in Moscow on November 26, 2018. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Some of these classes come in between the current divisions in the UFC while Super Heavyweight goes above the 265 lb threshold.

More UFC news

Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates

Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!