Many fighters have decided to move down in weight as they get older to compete against a new batch of contenders, Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar being prime examples, but very few fighters decide to reestablish themselves in a heavier weight division midway through their careers.
While there are examples of fighters who’ve made history moving up in weight to claim a belt in a second weight division including Amanda Nunes, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Georges St-Pierre, Henry Cejudo and Jon Jones, most didn’t stay at a heavier weight for long, often having shorter stints before retiring or moving on to other challenges.
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We take a closer look at five fighters who have achieved long-term success after moving up in weight and preview one fighter competing at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomdeov this Saturday who aims to further his ascent in a new weight division.
In less than three years, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has taken the UFC by storm. Pereira made his UFC debut in 2021 at middleweight and won three straight over Andreas Michailidis, Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland, to earn a shot at UFC gold against long-time kickboxing foe Israel Adesanya. He maximized the spotlight in spectacular fashion, pulling off a come from behind TKO victory in the fifth round to win the belt. In just four fights, Pereira was the middleweight champion. How could it get any better?
After Adesanya took back his title in the immediate rematch, Pereira decided to take his talents from middleweight to light heavyweight, a 20-pound weight difference. While Pereira was very large for the middleweight division, it was intriguing to see how he’d fare against much larger opposition. In his first fight in his new division, Pereira earned a hard-fought victory over former 205-pound champion Jan Błachowicz, granting “Poatan” a title shot in just his second fight at light heavyweight. If Pereira wasn’t a superstar yet, he soon would be.
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At UFC 295, Pereira took out former champion Jiri Prochazka late in the second round to become light heavyweight champion and add himself to the short list of fighters to win a title in two weight divisions. Five months later, Pereira headlined UFC’s historic UFC 300 card against Jamahal Hill, in which he maximized the spotlight by finishing Hill, yet another former champion, spectacularly in the first.
Then, just two months later, Pereira saved the day during International Fight Week, filling McGregor and Michael Chandler’s main event slot at UFC 303 in a rematch against Prochazka. Ending the first round with a near fight-ending knockdown, Pereira unleashed a vicious head kick just 10 seconds into the second round to collect his third straight knockout victory and second light heavyweight title defense. Since losing his middleweight title, Pereira’s won four straight, captured the light heavyweight title and defended it twice. And he shows no signs of slowing down.
Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira started his UFC career at 155 pounds, but he transitioned to featherweight after going winless in his first three Octagon appearances. Oliveira went 7-5 during his five-year stint at featherweight, with four of those fights taking place over the divisional limit because of his difficulty making weight. In 2017, Oliveira made the decision to move back up to lightweight, and it was a decision that would change his life forever.
At UFC 225, Oliveira submitted Clay Guida via guillotine choke in the first round. While it may seem insignificant since “Do Bronxs” has finished 31 of his 34 victories as a pro, it kickstarted an 11-fight win streak that will go down as one of the greatest title runs in UFC history.
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After winning eight straight, including victories over Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee and Jim Miller, Oliveira earned a spot in UFC 262’s main event alongside Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight title. After losing the first round, Oliveira rallied swiftly, stopping Chandler just 19 seconds into the second round to become the undisputed champion.
He then defended his title against Dustin Poirier, submitting the veteran in the third round. Oliveira then missed weight prior to what would’ve been his second title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. Oliveira still stole the show in Phoenix, Arizona, finishing Gaethje in the first round to prove he was still the best lightweight on the planet during that period.
Sean Strickland has fought in the UFC for so long that many people don’t realize he spent the majority of his UFC career in the welterweight division, fighting the likes of former 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman.
It wasn’t until 10 fights and six years later that Strickland decided to move up to 185 pounds. While he ended his welterweight stint with seven wins in 10 fights, he believed he could take his game to the next level by moving up.
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While never quite in the title picture at 170 pounds, Strickland’s impressive run of eight wins in his first 10 middleweight fights, including victories over Brendan Allen, Jack Hermansson and Nassourdine Imavov, earned him a much-deserved shot at gold against then-titleholder Adesanya. Strickland opened as a massive +490 underdog to Adesanya’s -675, but proved every doubter wrong with a dominant unanimous decision victory.
While Strickland was unsuccessful in defending his title when he faced current champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, he rebounded with a strong performance against Paulo Costa in June, putting him right back in the title picture for a potential rematch against the winner of UFC 305’s main event later this month.
Similar to Strickland’s situation, if you’re a relatively new fan of mixed martial arts, there’s a chance you didn’t know Dustin Poirier began his UFC career at 145 pounds. “The Diamond” made his UFC and featherweight debut in 2011 against Josh Grispi at UFC 125. Poirier fought 10 times at featherweight, facing world-class opponents like Max Holloway, “The Korean Zombie” and Conor McGregor.
But after suffering defeat to McGregor in 2014, Poirier decided to move back up to 155 pounds. He made an immediate impact on the lightweight division, earning back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses with knockout victories over Diego Ferreira and Yancy Medeiros.
While he may have never won the undisputed lightweight title, Poirier became widely recognized as one of the most entertaining fighters on the planet across all weight divisions. Between 2017 and 2019, Poirier picked up four straight wins and bonuses, finishing Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez, and earning interim lightweight gold against Holloway.
Poirier’s lightweight run also includes two redemptive victories over McGregor, a Fight of the Night-earning performance against Michael Chandler and a knockout over Benoît Saint Denis which earned him a title fight against current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Five fights in the UFC welterweight division was all fan-favorite Robert Whittaker needed to see before making his move up to middleweight in 2014.
As soon as he made the move to middleweight, Whittaker went on a six-fight tear to earn a shot at gold against Yoel Romero at UFC 213. In a five-round war, Whittaker stuffed 14 of the Olympic Silver Medalist’s 18 takedown attempts and landed 74 significant strikes to Romero’s 48 to win the title.
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Although Whittaker lost his belt to Adesanya in 2019, he has continued to establish himself as one of the top contenders in the division, with key victories over Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, and Paulo Costa. Whittaker’s lost just three times in 17 fights at middleweight with all three of those losses coming to a current or former champion (Adesanya x2, Du Plessis).
In June, Whittaker stunned Kingdom Arena in the UFC’s first-ever trip to Saudi Arabia, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his first-round knockout over one of the middleweight division’s hottest prospects, Ikram Aliskerov. This win may have positioned Whittaker at the top of the list of potential challengers for the winner of UFC 305’s headliner on August 17.
At UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov, former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will try to collect his third-straight victory at bantamweight against recent title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera.
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Figueiredo has already proved he can compete at 135 pounds with wins over Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt, but a win over Vera, who competed for the bantamweight title as recently as UFC 299 in March, could set himself up for a number one contender fight in the near future. Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley puts his title on the line against Merab Dvalishvili at Riyadh Season Noche UFC on September 14 at Sphere, so Figueiredo’s rise to the top of his new division couldn’t be happening at a better time.
