The UFC has 12 weight classes: eight for men, from flyweight (125 lb) to heavyweight (265 lb), and four for women, from strawweight (115 lb) to featherweight (145 lb). Each limit is the most a fighter can weigh at the official weigh-in, held the day before the fight. I have been a UFC fan since I first watched UFC 1, which had no weight classes at all, and the story of how the sport added them explains a lot about MMA today.
How Many Weight Classes Are in the UFC?
The UFC has 12 divisions. The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, used by U.S. athletic commissions, set 15 weight classes, the same for men and women, and each promotion chooses which ones to use. The UFC uses eight for men and four for women. For the current champion of each division, see the UFC’s official rankings.
A weight class sets only a ceiling. A lightweight can weigh in at 150 or 155 pounds; what matters is not going over 155. Many fighters walk around well above their division’s limit between fights and cut down for the weigh-in, which is why the scale has become one of the most talked-about parts of fight week.
The 12 UFC Weight Classes
Eight men’s divisions, then four women’s, each with its limit and a landmark moment.
Division | Weight Limit | Landmark |
|---|---|---|
Men’s Flyweight | 125 lb (56.7 kg) | Added in 2012. Demetrious Johnson won the first title at UFC 152, then made 11 straight title defenses from 2013 to 2017, a UFC record. |
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61.2 kg) | Came to the UFC with the WEC merger. Dominick Cruz became the first UFC bantamweight champion in December 2010. |
Featherweight | 145 lb (65.8 kg) | Also from the WEC merger. José Aldo was the division’s first UFC champion and made seven UFC title defenses. |
Lightweight | 155 lb (70.3 kg) | Jens Pulver won the first 155-pound title at UFC 30 in 2001. In January 2025, Islam Makhachev set the division record with his fourth title defense. |
Welterweight | 170 lb (77.1 kg) | Georges St-Pierre holds the record for the most welterweight title defenses, with nine. |
Middleweight | 185 lb (83.9 kg) | Anderson Silva made 10 straight title defenses from 2007 to 2012, and his reign of 6 years and 265 days is the longest in UFC history. |
Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93.0 kg) | Jon Jones tied the UFC record of 11 title defenses in 2020 and set the record for most wins in title fights. |
Heavyweight | 265 lb (120.2 kg) | In 2018, Stipe Miocic became the first UFC heavyweight to defend the title three times in a row. |
Women’s Strawweight | 115 lb (52.2 kg) | Added in 2014, when Carla Esparza won the first title. Joanna Jędrzejczyk later made five title defenses. |
Flyweight | 125 lb (56.7 kg) | Added in 2017, when Nicco Montaño won the first title. Valentina Shevchenko made seven straight title defenses, the women’s record. |
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61.2 kg) | Home of the first women’s fight in UFC history: Ronda Rousey against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in 2013. Rousey made six title defenses. |
Featherweight | 145 lb (65.8 kg) | First title fight in 2017, when Germaine de Randamie beat Holly Holm. Amanda Nunes retired in 2023 holding both the featherweight and bantamweight titles. |
A Short History of UFC Weight Classes
When UFC 1 was held in Denver in 1993, there were no weight classes, rounds or judges. Size was supposed to be beside the point, and Royce Gracie proved it by submitting much bigger men. As the sport grew and regulators stepped in, weight classes followed:
The 15 Unified Rules Weight Classes
The UFC uses 12 classes, but the Unified Rules set 15, the same for men and women. Each class runs from just above the limit below it up to its own limit:
15 Unified Rules Weight Classes
The same 15 for men and women. Promotions choose which ones to use.
Weight classes | Weight classes, continued |
|---|---|
Atomweight 105 lb • 47.6 kg Strawweight 115 lb • 52.2 kg Flyweight 125 lb • 56.7 kg Bantamweight 135 lb • 61.2 kg Featherweight 145 lb • 65.8 kg Lightweight 155 lb • 70.3 kg Super lightweight* 165 lb • 74.8 kg Welterweight 170 lb • 77.1 kg | Super welterweight* 175 lb • 79.4 kg Middleweight 185 lb • 83.9 kg Super middleweight* 195 lb • 88.5 kg Light heavyweight 205 lb • 93.0 kg Cruiserweight* 225 lb • 102.1 kg Heavyweight 265 lb • 120.2 kg Super heavyweight 265 lb • Over |
* Added in 2017 to curb extreme weight cuts |
The four “super” classes, at 165, 175, 195 and 225 lb, were added in July 2017, when the Association of Boxing Commissions voted unanimously to adopt them, Sherdog reported. They came from the California State Athletic Commission’s plan to curb extreme weight cutting: a fighter who no longer has to cut 15 pounds to make the class below has a closer home.
Promotions are not required to use them. Some outside the UFC do: Invicta FC holds atomweight title fights, and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC added a 165-pound class in 2021. “A lot of fighters can’t make 155 and they are a little small at 170,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN.
How UFC Weigh-Ins Work
UFC fighters weigh in the morning before the fight, between 9 and 11 a.m. local time, and a fighter who misses may be given up to one more hour to make weight, according to UFC.com. In non-title fights, fighters get a one-pound allowance over the limit; heavyweights can weigh up to 266 pounds. Title fights have no allowance: both fighters must weigh in at or under the exact limit.
A fighter who misses weight usually forfeits a share of the purse to the opponent, often 20%, though the amount is set by each athletic commission. The fight can go ahead at a catchweight or be cancelled. In a title fight the stakes are higher: when Charles Oliveira weighed 155.5 pounds before UFC 274 in 2022, he was stripped of the lightweight title on the scale.
The Dangers of Cutting Weight
Weight classes were meant to keep fights fair, but they also created weight cutting: fighters dehydrate themselves to make a lower class, then rehydrate before the fight. Research shows how extreme it gets. A 2017 study of seven UK MMA athletes in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found they cut an average of 5.6 kg (8% of body mass) before weigh-in and regained 7.4 kg within about 32 hours, more than they had lost. At weigh-in, 57% were dehydrated and 43% severely dehydrated, and the authors wrote that the cuts were “comparable to those which have previously resulted in fatalities.”
A 2018 survey of 637 combat-sport athletes in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance found that MMA athletes used saunas (76%) and water loading (67%) more than athletes in any other sport, and concluded that “the prevalence and magnitude of acute weight loss” were greater in MMA.
The risk is real. In December 2015, ONE Championship flyweight Yang Jian Bing died after a failed weight cut caused dehydration and heat stroke. ONE responded by testing fighters’ hydration and banning IV rehydration. In 2019, the California State Athletic Commission voted to cancel any fight where a fighter weighs more than 15% above the contracted weight on fight day.
Final Thoughts
UFC 1 asked whether size mattered and Royce Gracie answered no, at least that night. More than 30 years later, the UFC’s 12 weight classes are the clearest sign that the sport learned the opposite lesson: in a fair fight, weight matters. Knowing the limits, the history and the cost of making weight makes every fight on the card easier to understand. To see how weight classes fit into the rest of the sport, read our guide to what MMA is, and for the techniques fighters use at every weight, see our guide to MMA moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Weight Classes Are in the UFC?
The UFC has 12 weight classes: eight for men, from flyweight (125 lb) to heavyweight (265 lb), and four for women: strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight. The Unified Rules allow 15 in total.
What Is the Weight Limit for Lightweight in the UFC?
The UFC lightweight limit is 155 pounds (70.3 kg). In non-title fights, fighters get a one-pound allowance, so they can weigh in at up to 156 pounds; in title fights they must make 155 exactly.
What Is the UFC Heavyweight Weight Limit?
The UFC heavyweight limit is 265 pounds (120.2 kg). In non-title fights, heavyweights can weigh in at up to 266 pounds; in title fights they must weigh 265 or less.
What Are the UFC Women's Weight Classes?
The UFC has four women's weight classes: strawweight (115 lb), flyweight (125 lb), bantamweight (135 lb) and featherweight (145 lb).
What Happens If a UFC Fighter Misses Weight?
A fighter who misses weight usually forfeits a share of the purse to the opponent, often 20%, as set by the athletic commission. The fight may go ahead at a catchweight or be cancelled, and a champion who misses weight cannot keep the title by winning that fight.
