Super heavyweight

Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.

Boxing

In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the division, despite its grandiose name, is merely the amateur equivalent of the heavyweight division in professional boxing. The super heavyweight division was introduced because the general increase in the weight of top heavyweights throughout the 20th century meant that the heavyweight division became excessively broad, with the smaller men having little chance of competing effectively. Therefore the bigger men were split off into the new super heavyweight division. Professional boxing also made this split, but instead of renaming the unlimited division, it introduced the cruiserweight division for the smaller heavyweights, and continued to call the unlimited division heavyweight. In the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), the Super Heavyweight class (pro & amateur) is for kickboxers weighing 106.8 kilograms (235 lb) and above.

Super heavyweight (MMA)

The super heavyweight division in mixed martial arts has no weight limit but generally refers to competitors weighing above 265 lb (120 kg). This is the definition used by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the Association of Boxing Commissions.

Across Europe and Asia, there are numerous promotions that feature open-weight competitions that qualify as super heavyweight bouts. One such example is in Japan, where mixed martial arts organizations are not obligated by law to implement weight classes. Many open-weight bouts are designed around the theme of matching an extraordinarily large fighter against a much smaller but more skilled opponent. Therefore, the distinction between super heavyweight and heavyweight holds little relevance in promotions such as DREAM (defunct) and the Pride Fighting Championships (defunct).

In the United States, where state sanctioning laws often prohibit inter-divisional bouts, the super heavyweight class is necessary to pair two fighters above 265 lb.