The super lightweight (or light welterweight) division in MMA sits between the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division and the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division. It was approved by the

Association of Boxing Commissions The Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) is a North American not-for-profit professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) organization that organizes contests and record-keeping. It is governed by delegates of state, provincial, and tribal ...

on July 26, 2017. The upper limit was set at . Some

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

fighters, including

Ben Askren Benjamin Michael Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, professional boxer and Olympic wrestler. He was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade ...

Kevin Lee Kevin Jeese Lee Jr. (born September 4, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultima ...

Dustin Poirier Dustin Glenn Poirier (born January 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. ...

and

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor (born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship, Featherweight and UFC Lightweight Championship, Li ...

, have expressed interest in competing in a new UFC 165 lb division. However UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

stated that there would never be a 165-pound division in the UFC. Regional mixed martial arts promotion

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

has implemented a 165-pound weight class and championship, though they refer to their 165-pound weight class as Light Welterweight and have moved their Welterweight division up from 170 pounds to 175 pounds.

Eagle Fighting Championship Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC), commonly referred to as Eagle FC, is a Russian mixed martial arts promotion company established in 2020 by former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was renamed to Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC ...

has introduced a 165-pound weight class at Eagle 46 where in the main event,

Diego Sanchez Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes on the Super Lightweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his ...

and

had their Eagle FC debuts in this division. They refer to their 165-pound weight class as Super Lightweight and moved their Welterweight division from 170 pounds to 175 pounds.

References

Mixed martial arts weight classes {{mixedmartialart-stub