The excluded divisions include super middleweight (168), junior welterweight (140), junior lightweight (130), junior bantamweight (122), junior must (112), junior must (108) and minimum weight (105). Zuffa’s model also lacks several other transitional divisions separating natural body sizes.
Zuffa compresses the weight structure
The decision forces athletes to compete above or below their natural weight or outside of Zuffa altogether. The promotion’s championship system will exclusively include heavyweight, cruiserweight, airy heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight. These are the most recognizable divisions in boxing, but they remove the intermediate classes that have historically allowed fighters to develop without extreme size disadvantages.
Bridge divisions like the 140th and 168th have long served as stabilizers for warriors whose bodies fall between customary limits. Removing them makes for more complex career choices. The natural junior welterweight must now compete against full welterweights at 147 pounds or drop down to lightweight. A super middleweight has to either fight bigger airy heavyweights or cut down to middleweight.
The move reflects White’s long-standing criticism of boxing’s championship structure, which he described as overcrowded and watered down.
The UFC model was used
“I’ve talked a lot about what I don’t like about boxing,” White said before Zuffa’s debut gala. “But I also said that if you look at the UFC and not just its success but its sustainability, I took everything I loved about boxing and everything I hated about boxing and how we built the UFC.”
As it builds its own internal system, Zuffa will rely on Ring Magazine’s rankings to determine its contenders. The promotion plans to crown its first champion on March 8 when Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton meet in a cruiserweight bout in Las Vegas.
The boxing championship structure has evolved over the decades to accommodate fighters of various body sizes. Zuffa narrows this structure down to fewer divisions and fewer champions. Fighters now have to deal with a narrower system than the one that has developed over time in boxing. Some will adapt. Others will stay where they are.