Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. This reduces the exclusion of smaller athletes in sports where physical size gives a significant advantage. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts).
The existence of weight divisions gives rise to the practice of weight cutting. It is generally considered an advantage to be the largest individual in a weight division, therefore some athletes will work hard to lose weight through dieting and dehydration prior to weigh-ins to meet the required weight class.
Two alternatives exist to formal weight classes: catch weight and openweight.
In general, the lightest class is called "Mini Flyweight" and is just 105 lb or under, and the heaviest is called "Super Heavyweight", which is 220.1 lb and over.
Famous quotes containing the words weight and/or class:
“But I saw the little-Ant men as they ran
Carrying the world’s weight of the world’s filth
And the filth in the heart of Man—
Compressed till those lusts and greeds had a greater heat
than that of the Sun.”
—Dame Edith Sitwell (1887–1964)
“To avoid the consequences of posterity the mulattos give the blacks a first class letting alone. There is a frantic stampede white-ward to escape from Jamaica’s black mass.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)