Highlights

• UFC Hall of Famer and now commentator Daniel Cormier wants the company to introduce a new weight division - the 165lb divison, to be precise.
• DC wants to see Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler fight for the new title at UFC 303.
• With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT have named 6 current UFC fighters who would benefit the most from the new division being created.

Very recently, UFC Hall of Famer and commentator Daniel Cormier pitched for the UFC to create a new 165lb 'super lightweight' division, and more specifically, introduce the title at UFC 303, where he would have Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler compete for the inaugural title.

Given the talk around this potential new division, it has got a lot of people thinking about which fighters we could see at 165 and who would benefit the most from this new weight class. Today, we will be going through six fighters who could potentially benefit from this new division being made.

Conor McGregor

Current weight - 170lbs (welterweight)

Despite starting his MMA career in the featherweight division (145lbs), in five out of his last seven fights, McGregor has fought in the welterweight division (170lbs.) McGregor's history at welterweight started at UFC 196 where he was scheduled to fight Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title, but the latter pulled out due to injury. This led to McGregor accepting a fight on short notice, in a weight class 15 pounds heavier, against arguably his biggest rival in MMA to date Nate Diaz.

Since his first bout with Diaz, McGregor has only fought at his natural weight class (lightweight) twice and those were in title fights against Eddie Alvarez and Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor is not a big welterweight at all and if he fought natural welterweights he would look a lot smaller in the cage than he usually does as he has only really fought fellow natural lightweights at 170. The potential introduction of a 165lb division would be a dream for McGregor as he would probably struggle to get down to 155 nowadays, but is just too small to be a threat at the top of the welterweight division.

Colby Covington

Current weight - 170lbs (welterweight)

Colby Covington has had a good amount of success in the welterweight division and has fought for the undisputed title on three separate occasions, twice against Kamaru Usman and most recently against Leon Edwards at UFC 296. Despite Covington being one of the best in the world at welterweight, like McGregor, when you look at the size of some of the fighters breaking through at 170, Covington may benefit from moving to a lighter division, but would not make 155lbs. Covington would be another good addition to the newly pitched 165lb division if he could safely make the weight.

Charles Oliveira

Current weight - 155lbs (lightweight)

Ahead of the weigh-in for his most recent fight against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, just hours before he needed to make weight, rumours started circulating that Charles Oliveira could potentially miss the lightweight limit and come in overweight at UFC 300. The Brazilian rubbished these rumours, however, and came in on weight, but looked extremely drained and weak on the scale.

Oliveira has a rich history of missing weight in the UFC. Most noticeably for his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274, where he was stripped of his lightweight title due to missing the lightweight championship limit by half a pound, meaning only the American would be eligible to win the undisputed title. This cost Oliveira his title reign and, since then, he has struggled to get back to that championship, as he lost a title fight against Islam Makhachev and lost a title eliminator bout against Tsarukyan at UFC 300.

Oliveira has jumped up and down all weight divisions from featherweight to welterweight during his career and has found success in all of them. However, with the potential introduction of a 165lb division, could this be Oliveira's perfect weight class and give 'Do Bronx' a chance to show his true potential fighting at a more natural weight?

Dustin Poirier

Current weight - 155lbs (lightweight)

Dustin Poirier will once again challenge for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 302. He will face off against the formidable Islam Makhachev in what could potentially be the last title fight of his illustrious career. The American is now 35 years old and has been very frank recently about how much he has left in the tank in MMA, and if unsuccessful against Makhachev at UFC 302, his passion for the sport may fade away as he may realise he will never be an undisputed UFC world champion. Poirier has, of course, held interim gold, but has never held undisputed gold.

However, if Poirier was unsuccessful against Makhachev and the UFC were to go ahead and make a new 165lb division, it could light a fire under him and motivate 'The Diamond' to keep on fighting for a little bit longer. Despite Poirier not being the largest lightweight height-wise, he is very thick and built and this makes for a very difficult cut down to 155 for the veteran. The addition of a 165lb division would be ideal for Poirier as the weight cut down to 155 takes a big toll on his body and having to cut 10lbs less could see him get some more longevity in the sport.

Jalin Turner

Current weight - 155lbs (lightweight)

Jalin Turner is a truly unique fighter in the lightweight division. Turner is 6'3 and, for a lightweight, that is absolutely huge, and he always has a significant size, reach, and height advantage over pretty much everyone he faces at 155. Turner is an incredibly talented fighter but, despite a recent five-fight winning streak, has mostly struggled to find consistency in his UFC career.

Turner clearly has the talent to potentially do great things at lightweight in the future, but how far can he continue to go if he keeps on draining himself and putting his body at risk, cutting to 155 when it clearly isn't his natural weight class? Turner isn't the biggest name, but is arguably the fighter who would benefit the most from a 165lb division in the UFC being created. Turner would still hold his physical attributes and advantages over his opponents, but would just be that little bit more comfortable and healthy heading into the cage, which is potentially something he needs to further his career.

Benoit Saint-Denis

Current weight - 155lbs (lightweight)

Benoit Saint-Denis is another fighter who would benefit from a 165lb division being created in the UFC. Saint-Denis is an absolute powerhouse in the lightweight division, but is another fighter who is clearly hindering his performances to get down to 155. Saint-Denis most recently fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 299, where he lost via knockout in round 2.

Saint-Denis is almost 6'0 tall, which is pretty big for a lightweight, and has a similar build to Poirier in terms of how thick he is. When he steps on the scales to weigh in at 155, you can always see that making the weight is a huge struggle. Like Turner, Saint-Denis is most likely sacrificing huge parts of his game as well as his physical condition in order to make the lightweight limit, and a move to 165, if the division is created, could allow the Frenchman to show his full potential inside the Octagon.