Khamzat Chimaev and 4 other weight bullies in the UFC

August 20, 2024

Several things need to happen for a UFC fight to take place without incident. First, fighters are expected to be relatively injury-free. While it's normal, and even common, for fighters to enter fights with minor knocks, a serious injury risks undercutting the athletic integrity of a bout.

Thus, fighters are also expected to be well-prepared in terms of their training. They must be both in shape and armed with the skills and gameplan needed to, at least, be competitive. With that comes another requirement. Fighters must make weight for their bouts, no matter what. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

It's especially difficult for exceptionally large fighters cutting a massive amount of weight to be eligible for their matchup. Sometimes the weight cuts fail, and in other cases, they don't. When they succeed, however, such fighters are branded weight bullies: men and women too big for the weight class they insist on fighting in.

#5. Michel Pereira, UFC welterweight

Capoeira sensation Michel Pereira is one of the promotion's most exciting action fighters. He is an exceptionally gifted athlete, with a great deal of explosiveness, power, agility, and speed. Most notably, he is one of the largest welterweights on the UFC roster, in both height and sheer muscularity and density.

At 6'1" and with a 73-inch reach, the Brazilian is even larger than former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who was once a 170-pounder himself. Worse still, Michel Pereira has failed to make weight twice now, with the first instance occurring back in 2019 against Tristan Connelly at UFC Fight Night 158.

Years later, he was booked to face Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, one of the sport's best strikers, at UFC 291. Unfortunately, Pereira came in three pounds over the welterweight, causing the bout to be scrapped. Due to his sheer size, it hardly shocked anyone that Pereira, a natural middleweight, failed to make 170 pounds.

#4. Deiveson Figueiredo, UFC flyweight

There was a time when Deiveson Figueiredo was regarded as nearly unbeatable in the promotion's flyweight division. He was the reigning 125-pound champion and possessed destructive power in every limb, such that he demolished four-time title challenger Joseph Benavidez in a brutal fashion.

Part of his fearsome knockout power came from the sheer size advantage he holds over other flyweights. He isn't freakishly tall for the division, with both his countryman Alexandre Pantoja and rival Brandon Moreno being taller than him. Instead, 'Deus da Guerra' is much heavier due to his muscle mass.

Figueiredo is far thicker and more densely muscled than every other flyweight. Given the nonexistent amount of body fat he carries, it has made weight cuts increasingly more difficult for him. He has missed weight before and now struggles so much that most of his camp is dedicated to weight-cutting instead of sparring.

#3. Jalin Turner, UFC lightweight

The UFC lightweight division is home to several great fighters of various shapes and sizes. But they don't come much bigger than Jalin Turner, whose physical dimensions dwarf those of every other 155-pounder. He possesses tremendous knockout power and great submission instincts.

Both are largely due to his size. Turner stands at 6'3" with a 77-inch wingspan. These are proportions that even dwarf many middleweights on the roster, yet he competes at lightweight. The sheer size advantage he enjoys renders him more powerful, while his length allows him to sink in chokes from unorthodox angles.

Turner even failed to make weight in his last outing against Dan Hooker, which doesn't bode well for his future weight cuts at 155 pounds the older he gets.

#2. Alex Pereira, UFC light heavyweight/middleweight

While Alex Pereira is now a light heavyweight fighter, many, including former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, have wondered just how 'Poatan' ever made 185 pounds. The former kickboxing great began his still young MMA career as a middleweight, despite his massive physical dimensions.

Alex Pereira hovers at 6'4" and boasts a reach of 79 inches, making him the only fighter who matched Israel Adesanya's size at middleweight. But it wasn't just his height and length, 'Poatan' was much thicker and denser than everyone else in the weight class. No one else came close.

In fact, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan once described Alex Pereira's presence in the division as borderline cheating due to his ability to cut down to 185 pounds at his size.

#1. Khamzat Chimaev, UFC welterweight/middleweight

Undefeated Chechen superstar Khamzat Chimaev made his name as a potential contender for the welterweight title during his meteoric rise up the rankings. Many regard him as a potential future champion in the promotion and it is easy to understand why, given his elite-level grappling and seismic knockout power.

Part of his success at welterweight, however, can be credited to the massive size difference between him and nearly everyone else. 'Borz' stands at 6'2" with a 75-inch wingspan and a densely muscled build that meant he carried very little body fat in the weight class.

His size and strength overwhelmed almost everyone he faced, but welterweight became an increasingly difficult weight cut for him, such that he missed weight by seven and a half pounds for his UFC 279 bout against Nate Diaz, which was ultimately scrapped.

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