Issue 082

December 2011

How to be sure getting in with the big boys isn’t one step too far

Rosi Sexton

Pro fighter & sports therapist

Rosi Sexton is a leading professional fighter, sports therapist and registered osteopath. 

For those in the higher weight classes, the heavyweight division can be very appealing. For one, little-to-no dieting or weight cutting means focusing on your training without worshiping the scales. 

In addition, genuine heavyweights are often in short supply, especially on local shows. The average standard of up-and-coming fighters, both in terms of skills and in athleticism, appears to drop dramatically between light heavyweight and heavyweight. For a solid light heavyweight fighter walking around at about 225lb, this might be a temptation. But think ahead. 

The heavyweight category in MMA runs from 205lb up to 265lb (92kg to 119kg). That’s a pretty big size gap. Not too long ago, many of the top heavyweights were towards the lower end of that range. Several top fighters, most notably Randy Couture, have competed successfully in both divisions. Fedor Emelianenko, who for many years was regarded as the world’s best heavyweight, weighed in for fights at less than 230lb. 

These days, things are a bit different. When Brock Lesnar entered the UFC in 2008, it marked a change for the weight division. Although there have been large heavyweights in the past, Lesnar’s power, together with a strong wrestling background, allowed him to take the UFC title from Randy Couture in what was only his fourth professional MMA fight, proving once again that size really does matter. 

While making the move to heavyweight may seem like a good idea while you’re ordering double portions at the steakhouse, it may not seem quite so smart when you’re staring across the cage at a man monster with a six-inch reach advantage and one-punch KO power. Here are some things to think about before you make the decision. 

GAINING SIZE

Putting on muscle mass is relatively simple, but the difficulty often comes in building the gas tank to power it. This won’t happen overnight. It seems that fighters can often take a few fights to really adjust to a new weight class. Make sure you allow plenty of time for this in your training camp. 

HEIGHT AND REACH

Although you can put on weight, you can’t do much about your height. The size of your skeleton is an important factor to consider. Heavyweights range from Jeff Monson at five-foot-nine (or shorter) to Stefan Struve at six-foot-eleven. Many come in at around six-foot-two to six-foot-four. If you are going to be shorter than many of your opponents, you’ll want to make sure that this is something that you are comfortable dealing with. 

FIGHTING STYLE

It’s no coincidence that the heavyweight fights are much more likely to end in a KO or a TKO than any other weight class. Going up through the weight divisions, fighters get larger and more powerful. But the ability to resist damage doesn’t increase at the same rate. In absolute terms, a heavyweight fighter is generally harder to knock out than a lightweight fighter, because he’ll have stronger neck muscles, which will dampen the sudden rotational movements most likely to result in a KO. But this difference is smaller than the difference in striking power between the heavyweight and the lightweight. By the numbers, a heavyweight fight in the UFC is more than twice as likely to end in a knockout or TKO compared to a lightweight fight. At the same time, there tend to be fewer submission wins amongst heavyweights. Whether this works to your advantage or against you will naturally depend on how you like to fight. 

TRAINING PARTNERS

Many heavyweights struggle because of a lack of similarly sized training partners at their gym. If you’re training with people who are smaller than you all the time, then it’s very hard not to use that strength difference. This blunts your technique, and is likely to lead to a nasty shock on fight night. Look for other heavyweights to train with, and when that’s not possible then think of ways to handicap yourself in training to force you to work on your technique. Try switching to a fresh partner every few minutes, or drilling escapes when you’re already tired.