By the numbers
Updated
Independent desk. Figures are traced to named sources and corrections are logged — see the editorial policy.
Eight men's divisions from flyweight at 125 pounds to heavyweight at 265, and four women's divisions from strawweight at 115.
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Mixed martial arts weight classes follow a set of divisions defined in the Unified Rules adopted by the athletic commissions of the United States. The UFC uses those divisions, with a limit that is the top of each class.
Men's divisions
- Flyweight: up to 125 pounds
- Bantamweight: up to 135
- Featherweight: up to 145
- Lightweight: up to 155
- Welterweight: up to 170
- Middleweight: up to 185
- Light heavyweight: up to 205
- Heavyweight: up to 265
Women's divisions
- Strawweight: up to 115 pounds
- Flyweight: up to 125
- Bantamweight: up to 135
- Featherweight: up to 145
The weigh-in
Fighters weigh in the day before the fight. For non-title fights a fighter is allowed to be up to one pound over the limit. In a title fight the champion and the challenger must make the exact limit, and a fighter who misses can lose the right to win the belt or see the bout changed to a catchweight, a weight between two classes that both sides agree to.
Why the weigh-in is a separate event
The limit applies at the scale, not in the cage. Fighters rehydrate and eat after the weigh-in, so they can step into the cage well above the number printed on the bout sheet. That is why the weigh-in is a separate event the day before, and why the published limits describe the division rather than what the fighter weighs when the fight begins.