How do Fighters Decide Their Fighting Weights?

[Graham Tidey]

My question is this - how does one sensibly decide which weight division to fight in? You often see tall, skinny guys in the UFC fighting short, muscle bound guys who look much stronger. Why is there such an obvious difference in body shape in the same division?

For what reason did the skinny guy decide not to bulk up and fight in the division above, using the strength he earned building muscle?

For what reason did the short guy not move down a division and be one of the strongest at a smaller weight?

My friends and I often talk about moving up or down weight classes in BJJ but don't know the logic behind it.

Any help?

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Maybe the tall thin guy likes his reach advantage in the lighter class, and/or wasn't able to bulk up enough to avoid getting destroyed in the heavier class. Maybe the short strong guy couldn't comfortably make the weight in a lighter division. Even with ideal nutrition and training, there's a limit to how far you can push your weight in either direction without sacrificing something else.

In something like the UFC, you have an additional wrinkle in that different arts favor different body types. All boxers at a given weight might have similar body types, but a UFC striker might not look like a UFC grappler.

Katherine

[John Seiler]

And then you have guys like Cro Cop. The only reason I can figure he didn't drop down a weight class is because it's really hard work. Of course, when they get to the top of the food chain and get their butts handed to them some get wise, ala Brandon Vera.

[Brian Lawyer]

This is a legit question I myself have been wondering. I generally have been walking around at 195 - 200 for probably 7-8 years now. I noticed on an amateur level the light/heavy division (185 - 205) guys usually suck and the middle weights (185) division is usually stacked with badass guys. For some reason the medium range for good fighters lands them around middle weight. For that reason, I never saw the benefit of cutting weight to be a middle weight. Especially, when it came to an elimination type tourney. I may only have two other guys to fight in ligh/heavy but in middle weights need to fight 5 or 6 guys. So from an amateur perspective I found it advantageous to be a "light" light/heavy. If I was going to go UFC I would get my a** kicked because all those light/heavy guys generally walk around about 220 and cut weight to 205 for fight.