Kickboxing weight division classes are one of the fair fighting systems. They organize warriors according to their size. This makes competitions focus on ability other than brute power. The system encourages safety and technical excellence.
The worthiness of weight classes is demonstrated by the research of combat sports analysts. They nullify natural size advantages. This compels sportsmen to come up with better techniques and tactics. These divisions have been found to make the sport more competitive and viable to all participants. It is an aspect of justness.
Think of two men in the ring. One is quite larger than the other. The outcome seems certain. Now suppose them both equal in size. The true test of skill begins. This is what weight divisions in the world are. Each kick, each punch, each move counts.
Why Weight Divisions Matter
Any combat sport depends on weight classes. They are there in the interests of fairness and fighter safety. There is usually a natural advantage for a heavier fighter. This is an advantage of increased mass and power. This bare-brute advantage is nullified by weight classes. This compels warriors to depend on the use of technique, speed, and strategy. Every match is a real test of the skills of a kickboxer. In the absence of these classes, smaller fighters would have no chance. The game would be deprived of richness and power. Divisions are used in order to make each fighter have an equal opportunity to win.
The Challenge of Standardization
There are no single weight classes in kickboxing. Many international bodies control the sport. All of them have their own regulations and maximum weights. This brings complexity to the side of the fan and fighter. The International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) also has its standards. The World Kickboxing Organization has other ones. Their divisions are also characterised by major promotions such as GLORY and ONE Championship.
This non-uniformity implies that a “Lightweight” in one organization would become a “Super Lightweight” in another organization. As an example, a GLORY Lightweight fighter will be up to 70 kg (154.3 lb). A WAKO Lightweight, however, has a maximum weight of 60 kg (132.3 lb). This difference is a characteristic of the sport environment. Weight control is essential to fighters. They must make it agreeable to the stipulations of the promotion they are fighting.
Traveling around Major Kickboxing Organizations.
Various promotions do not use the same weight classes to fit their brand of competition. This diversity displays the international nature of kickboxing.
GLORY Kickboxing
GLORY is one of the leading promotions of kickboxing. It has some of the most outstanding strikers in the world. Its segmentation based on weight is not complex and includes several athletes.
- Featherweight: 65 kg / 143.3 lb
- Lightweight: 70 kg / 154.3 lb
- Welterweight: 77 kg / 169.8 lb
- Middleweight: 85 kg / 187.4 lb
- Light Heavyweight: 95 kg / 209.4 lb
Heavyweight: No weight limit
GLORY also features a female Super Bantamweight division where the best female athletes are featured.
ONE Championship
ONE Championship is a large Asian based martial arts organization. It has an exclusive style of weight control. Its system is concerned with fighter hydration and safety. This will eliminate weight-cutting that is dangerous. The classes of weights are very different as compared to other promotions.
- Atomweight: 52.2 kg / 115 lb
- Strawweight: 56.7 kg / 125 lb
- Flyweight: 61.2 kg / 135 lb
- Bantamweight: 65.8 kg / 145 lb
- Featherweight: 70.3 kg / 155 lb
- Lightweight: 77.1 kg / 170 lb
Such a system has a focus on the long-term health of athletes. It is a nice aspect of the identity of ONE.
World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO)
WAKO is a highly significant governing body on an international scale. It approves amateur and professional kickboxing throughout the world. It is heavily divided in terms of its weight. They fit an enormous variety of body shapes. Some of the professional male divisions of WAKO include the following:
- Flyweight: 54.5 kg / 120.2 lb
- Bantamweight: 56.4 kg / 124.3 lb
- Featherweight: 58.2 kg / 128.3 lb
- Lightweight: 60 kg / 132.3 lb
- Super Lightweight: 62.3 kg / 137.3 lb
- Light Welterweight: 64.5 kg / 142.2 lb
- Welterweight: 66.8 kg / 147.3 lb
- Super Welterweight: 69.1 kg / 152.3 lb
- Light Middleweight: 71.8 kg / 158.3 lb
- Middleweight: 75 kg / 165.3 lb
- Super Middleweight: 78.1 kg / 172.2 lb
- Light Heavyweight: 81.4 kg / 179.5 lb
- Cruiserweight: 88.6 kg / 195.3 lb
- Heavyweight: 94.1 kg / 207.5 lb
The all-encompassing format of WAKO serves as an aid to kickboxing at both grassroots and professional levels of the sport.
The Weigh-In Process
A weigh-in is an important pre-fight ritual. It determines that combatants have fulfilled the stipulated weight requirement. In the case of professional bouts, this normally occurs 24 hours before the fight. This will give the athletes the time to rehydrate and refuel. Being able to gain weight is a sign of discipline for a fighter. Not doing so is not without consequences. A fighter may also give up a part of his fight purse. They would not be able to win the championship belt in a title fight. The weigh-in gives it a dramatic effect. It is the last challenge in the battle in the ring.
The True Measure of a Champion
Kickboxing weight division does not simply put fighters together by size. They make a world where strategy is better than strength. These are the mute engineers of each great conflict. They compel sportsmen to master their art. They make sure that victory is won by a mixture of skill, heart, and intelligence. Not the one who has the heaviest hands. A champion is the one who best mastered the art of fighting following the strict limits of the division. This system enables the legends to be born in all sizes, the explosive flyweight to the heavyweight. It demonstrates that in the ring technique is the final leveler.
