[Hammerlock2.0]

The idea for this thread came to me during the Nelson/Santiago fight this weekend. I hope you like it.

I thought Nelson looked tiny in there against Jorge so I thought "What if he was actually Nelson's size?". Nelson is not the only "small" guy out there. There are some in every division. Some of them are/were doing great, some even became champions. I'm thinking of guys like Frankie Edgar at LW, Gunnar Nelson at WW, Demian Maia at MW, Rashad and Machida at LHW and many more.

All across the divisions fighters cut weight, sometimes immense amounts. What would happen to the weight-cutters if weight-cutting were made illegal? Who would be the champions in each division? GSP walks around at roughly 194lbs. Would he be a champion if he had to fight at LHW - in a weight class he would share with Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans? Would LW champ Benson Henderson take GSP's spot at WW or would FW champ Jose Aldo, who said he walks around at 170lbs, be the WW kingpin? Or maybe even Dominick Cruz who cuts more than 30 pounds to make BW? How would Anderson Silva do against heavyweights? There's lots of speculation here.


To make things a little easier, guys who walk around just a bit over the limit can still fight in the lighter division (for example, Pettis supposedly walks around at 172, so he could still be a WW). Here's my personal opinion on who would be the top guys:

If anyone can think of a guy that weighs less than 135, please comment.

FW: Mighty Mouse
LW: Frankie Edgar
WW: epic trilogy between Pettis and Aldo
MW: Maia or Nick Diaz
LHW: Lyoto Machida or GSP, can't really decide here
HW: Chael Sonnen


No, seriously, still Cain Velasquez.

[ACTAFOOL]

fun thread, right now i dont have time to play but i just wanted to comment that Pettis said he barley cuts any weight for LW...that he walks around 155 or something like that, so i think he would still dominate LW

Aldo weighs 170? wow didnt think he was that high...no wonder hes starting to gass so much, hes getting huge..thats a big cut, he needs to move up soon

[Ape City]

HW: Cain (would freaking love to see Cain vs. JJ omg)
LHW: Anderson Silva
MW: GSP
WW: Aldo
LW: Frankie
FW: Mighty

I think GSP would be more suited to MW. Since he has said a few times he weighs in at 190 when he chillaxing, I don't think he would have to cut weight to be a natural 185, just maybe no cheeseburgers.

Kinda shocked you don't have Anderson anywhere. 205 is totally his natural home and I think he would whoop GSP at that weight.

[amoosenamedhank]

Originally Posted by ACTAFOOL

fun thread, right now i dont have time to play but i just wanted to comment that Pettis said he barley cuts any weight for LW...that he walks around 155 or something like that, so i think he would still dominate LW

Aldo weighs 170? wow didnt think he was that high...no wonder hes starting to gass so much, hes getting huge..thats a big cut, he needs to move up soon

Beings that weight cutting is more 'the norm' than not... this really wouldn't change much other than shifting the fighters up in divisions. There would be those few guys (ones that you have already mentioned) who would stay closer to their current weight class as they don't cut much but otherwise everyone else would just move up.

The only interesting thing would be some guys might have to go up 2-3 weight classes (your example GSP). But you have to remember, now the guys that they're fighting are for the most part going to be about the same size too. Think about it... there are a lot of WW who cut from around 190lbs.... so GSP will still be fighting the same people... just closer to his natural weight.

[Hammerlock2.0]

Originally Posted by Ape City

HW: Cain (would freaking love to see Cain vs. JJ omg)
LHW: Anderson Silva
MW: GSP
WW: Aldo
LW: Frankie
FW: Mighty

I think GSP would be more suited to MW. Since he has said a few times he weighs in at 190 when he chillaxing, I don't think he would have to cut weight to be a natural 185, just maybe no cheeseburgers.

Kinda shocked you don't have Anderson anywhere. 205 is totally his natural home and I think he would whoop GSP at that weight.

I don't have Anderson at LHW because I believe he walks around at 220ish lbs and would therefore be a HW.

[Ape City]

ya but are we talking about walking around and eating double cheeseburger weight or are we talking in shape and no weight cut a few days before the fight. i say this because in shape anderson is like 203. he wasnt cutting for his lhw fights, he was just in good shape.

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[K R Y]

HW - Cain, obviously.

LHW - Anderson Silva (agree with Ape, Andy's in shape weight is low enough to make light heavy)

MW - Wanderl...FINE GSP.

WW - Gunnar Nelson eventually He should cut to LW.

LW - Frankie. Should be the champ there now.

No idea about who cuts how much weight for the lower divisions to comment really.

[khoveraki]

I wish "walk around" weight was a posted statistic. Sometime early in a fighters camp where they're in shape but haven't started a cut, get those guys on a scale and see what their real in shape weight is.

[xxpillowxxjp]

Comier, silva, rory, aldo, frankie (unfortunately)

[John8204]

HW Cain, especially as JDS has to likely cut weight
LHW Anderson, I would say Rashad had a shot at this but know it's Anderson.
MW Lombard, this one is a little tricky, it's both judo vs wrestling and jabbing vs counter striking.
WW Maynard, epic trilogy between he and Benson
LW Edgar, easy call
FW Cruz, if healthy
BW Johnson
fly Dodson