UFC weight classes

The UFC lists 12 weight classes and ranks 11 of them. The limits fit in one table. What the table does not show is how far apart they are: in the UFC the step to the next division is roughly twice the step in boxing, and that spacing explains most of the big weight cuts in the sport.

UFC weight classes in order: men

Limits as published by the UFC. The non-title column is the most a fighter may weigh when no title is at stake.

The last column is the band the 2025 ISSN position stand on combat sports gives for the weight to carry between camps: 12 to 15 percent above the division limit. Why that band decides the division, and not the limit, is in what weight class you should fight at. At heavyweight it applies only to a fighter who has to cut to make 265, and many heavyweights weigh in well under it: Alex Pereira made his heavyweight debut at 251.

UFC weight classes: women

The UFC still counts women's featherweight among its 12 weight classes, but its rankings list no one in it. When the division's last champion, Amanda Nunes, retired in June 2023, Dana White was asked whether it would be dropped and said the answer was probably yes.

For women the between-camps band is only half of the picture. The acute range in fight week is tighter, for reasons covered in women and the weight cut.

How far apart the divisions are

In boxing most steps are 3 to 5 percent, because 17 divisions are packed into a narrower range. In the UFC every step below heavyweight is 7 to 11 percent, and the last one is almost 30.

That spacing is one reason MMA produces the largest cuts in combat sport. Take a fighter who lives at 187 lb between camps. He sits 21 percent above lightweight, far outside the band. He sits 10 percent above welterweight, slightly under it. The division the band would actually choose for him is super lightweight, where 187 is 13 percent above the 165 limit. The UFC does not book it. So he either cuts hard to 155 or fights at 170 a few pounds light.

When I choose a division with a fighter, I start from the band he already lives in and work down to the limit, and in the UFC the honest answer is often that he lives between two of them. Moving up is a bigger decision here than in boxing, because the next rung is 10 to 20 pounds away.

The rulebook has 15 classes, the UFC uses 9 limits

US athletic commissions regulate MMA under the Unified Rules published by the Association of Boxing Commissions. The current version defines 15 classes. The last column shows which ones the UFC promotes.

In the rulebook heavyweight starts above 225, because cruiserweight sits below it. The UFC does not use cruiserweight, so in the UFC anyone above the light heavyweight limit fights at heavyweight, up to 265.

Other promotions choose their own sets. ONE Championship uses its own division names at heavier weights than the same names elsewhere and hydration tests its athletes before they compete, which is covered in Muay Thai weight classes.

Weigh-in rules in the UFC

Official weigh-ins take place the day before the fight, between 9 and 11 in the morning local time. The ceremonial weigh-in staged for fans is a separate event. The number that counts is the morning one.

In a non-title fight a fighter may weigh one pound over the limit, so 156 at lightweight and 266 at heavyweight. In a title fight the limit is exact.

A fighter who misses on the first attempt may be given up to one more hour, depending on the commission and how much weight is left. If the miss stands, the UFC describes three outcomes: the fighter forfeits a percentage of the purse to the opponent, the bout goes ahead at a catchweight, or it is cancelled. How the money is usually split is on what happens when a fighter misses weight.

Titles are decided on the scale. When Deiveson Figueiredo weighed 127.5 for a flyweight title fight against Joseph Benavidez in 2020, only Benavidez could have won the belt. Figueiredo won the fight, and the title stayed vacant. When the champion is the one who misses, the belt goes before the fight: Charles Oliveira weighed 155.5 at UFC 274 and lost the lightweight title on the scale.

From the scale to the first bell is roughly 30 hours, and no sanctioning body caps how much weight goes back on. What that does to the last day of a cut is on the MMA rules page.

The public weight cuts behind each division

Nine public UFC weight cuts are read on this site. Laid over the division table, they show what each limit has cost the fighters who made it.

My reading of the table: the hardest public cuts sit where a fighter's body lives between two limits 15 or 20 pounds apart. Chimaev and Pereira at 185 both lived closer to 205. Side by side, with how far above the limit each started, the cases are on the case studies page.

Common questions

How many weight classes are there in the UFC?

Twelve are listed: eight for men and four for women. Eleven have rankings, because women's featherweight has no ranked fighters.

What are the UFC weight classes in order?

Men: flyweight 125 lb, bantamweight 135, featherweight 145, lightweight 155, welterweight 170, middleweight 185, light heavyweight 205 and heavyweight 265. Women: strawweight 115, flyweight 125, bantamweight 135 and featherweight 145.

What are the UFC weight classes in kg?

Converted from the pound limits: strawweight 52.16 kg, flyweight 56.70, bantamweight 61.23, featherweight 65.77, lightweight 70.31, welterweight 77.11, middleweight 83.91, light heavyweight 92.99 and heavyweight 120.20.

What is the one-pound allowance in the UFC?

In a non-title fight a fighter may weigh one pound over the division limit, for example 156 at lightweight. In a title fight the fighter must be at or under the exact limit.

What happens if a UFC fighter misses weight?

The fighter may be given up to one more hour, depending on the commission. If the miss stands, the fighter forfeits a percentage of the purse to the opponent, and the bout goes ahead at a catchweight or is cancelled. In a title fight, the fighter who missed cannot win the belt.

Does the UFC have a 165 lb division?

No. The Unified Rules define super lightweight at 165 lb, along with classes at 175, 195 and 225 lb, but the UFC does not book any of them.