Middleweight

Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.

Boxing

In Boxing, the middleweight division is above 154 lbs (70.5 kg) and up to 160 lbs (72.5 kg).

Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897. Chandler won, becoming known as the American middleweight champion.

The first middleweight fight with gloves may have been between George Fulljames and Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey (no relation to the more famous heavyweight Jack Dempsey)

Bernard Hopkins holds the record for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 20 defenses of the IBF title.

Professional Champions

Current Male Champions

Interim Champions

Current Male Champions

Longest reigning middleweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning middleweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Cruiserweight (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a cruiserweight is a wrestler weighing 220 lb (100 kg) and less, sometimes 215. The older term junior heavyweight, which was used to describe the division, is more favored in Japan, where many titles for lighter-weight competitors are called junior heavyweight titles. Prominent titles include New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP, Pro Wrestling Noah's GHC, and All Japan Pro Wrestling's World/PWF titles. The weight limit utilized by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Japanese promotions is "up to 220 lbs" (100 kg). Due to the scripted nature of professional wrestling and that the billed weight of wrestlers can be changed, weight classes usually are not strictly enforced as they are in professional boxing and mixed martial arts. New Japan and Noah also have junior heavyweight tag team titles, for teams composed of junior heavyweights. WCW tested such a format with their own title shortly before the company was purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment. Cruiserweight divisions and championships have risen to much greater prominence in wrestling promotions in Japan and Mexico than the United States. Due to the scripted nature of professional wrestling, many American promoters and fans feel that limiting smaller wrestlers by placing them in weight classes relates a message that the smaller wrestlers are inferior to larger ones. While there have been various wrestling companies over the years that have promoted cruiserweight/junior heavyweight titles and divisions in the U.S., they've had comparatively little prominence. For instance, the National Wrestling Alliance is a governing body of professional wrestling and has actively recognized its own junior heavyweight championship since 1945, but few champions have become major pro wrestling stars in the U.S. over the decades while many heavyweight champions have become celebrated icons of the industry.

Middleweight (MMA)

The middleweight division in mixed martial arts refers to a number of different weight classes:

Ambiguity and clarification

For the sake of uniformity, many mixed martial arts websites refer to competitors between 171 and 185 lb (77.5 and 84 kg) as middleweights. This encompasses the former PRIDE Welterweight division (183 lb / 83 kg) and Shooto's light heavyweight division of the same weight limit.

The Middleweight division in the UFC used to be between 186 and 205 lb (84 and 93 kg) now known as their Light Heavyweight division.