User:CarderBelden178

FC 78 is quickly approaching and it's main event match-up between Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping made me think of fighters who could cut weight to drop to a lower ufc weight classes In that spirit I am going to discuss four UFC fighters who may be well served by dropping weight and fighting below their current class.

Let me start at the top, the UFC heavyweight division. You will find a number of UFC heavyweights who could make 205lbs, remember Randy Couture fought as a light heavyweight for a while, that he even held the light heavyweight title. There is certainly really only one UFC heavyweight who I would like to speak about dropping weight. Brandon "The Truth" Vera just dropped a three round decision to former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Brandon did not loose this match as a result of his skill-set. He lost because of Tim's size. Tim pushed Vera facing the fence and used his weight to close the distance, essentially negating Vera's superior kicking game. If Brandon Vera dropped down to 205lbs I'm he'd be competing on an even playing field and may likely quickly transfer to title contention.

The UFC light heavyweight division has the most of guys who should think about dropping weight. There are three that I'd like to discuss, they truly are Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. You'll observe that Bisping and Evans will be the main event fighters at UFC 78. These two fighters are undefeated at light heavyweight.

Michael Bisping is an outstanding fighter, a good striker with an adequate ground game. However, his recent fight with Matt Hamill demonstrates he is able to be manhandled by a stronger opponent. Bisping mostly stayed on the exterior in this fight and let Hamill control the action. I believe that this is really because he was steering clear of Hamill's strength... with is wrestling, and physical strength. We all remember on the Ultimate Fighter when Hamill was overwhelming another fighters with his physical strength, a move to 185lbs wouldn't only put him into title contention, but allows Bisping to be stronger than other opponents in that mma weight classes.

Rashad Evans has dropped a weight classes. Rashad competed at heavyweight on the Ultimate Fighter TELEVISION series and did perfectly, winning his division, but his recent bout with Tito Ortiz showed that Rashad, despite his superior wrestling skills is a small light heavyweight. Rashad will have no dilemmas matching strength with Bisping at UFC 78, nevertheless when fighting the bigger light heavyweights like Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva and Tito Ortiz he will get manhandled, essentially negating his wrestling advantage. A move to 185lbs may likely make Rashad a sudden title contender.