Are you wondering what the ONE Championship weight classes are?
In this article, we’ll look at the ONE Championship weight classes in MMA, muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling, and why ONE Championship has different weight classes to other top MMA promotions.
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ONE Championship Weight Classes
ONE Championship has 10 weight classes, which are used across all of their combat sports: MMA, muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling. MMA uses all 10, kickboxing uses 7, muay Thai 6, and submission grappling 2.
While kickboxing, muay thai, and submission grappling haven’t used all 10 weight classes, there’s nothing stopping ONE from creating them in the future once they recruit more talented fighters.
Let’s first take a look at the ONE Championship weight classes for MMA, as they use every division.
ONE Championship MMA Weight Classes
| Weight Class | Upper Limit | Lower Limit | Gender |
| Atomweight | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | 105 lbs (47.6kg) | Female Only |
| Strawweight | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | Male / Female |
| Flyweight | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | Male / Female |
| Bantamweight | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | Male / Female |
| Featherweight | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | Male Only |
| Lightweight | 170 lbs (77.1kg) | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | Male Only |
| Welterweight | 185 lbs (83.9kg) | 170 lbs (77.1kg) | Male Only |
| Middleweight | 205 lbs (93kg) | 185 lbs (83.9kg) | Male Only |
| Light Heavyweight | 225 lbs (102.1kg) | 205 lbs (93kg) | Male Only |
| Heavyweight | 265 lbs (120.2kg) | 225 lbs (120.2kg) | Male Only |
As can be seen from the table, female fighters compete in 4 of the 10 weight classes and men compete in 9 of the 10 weight classes, for a total of 13 MMA weight classes if counting both genders.
ONE Championship Kickboxing Weight Classes
| Weight Class | Upper Limit | Lower Limit | Gender |
| Atomweight | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | 105 lbs (47.6kg) | Female Only |
| Strawweight | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | Male Only |
| Flyweight | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | Male Only |
| Bantamweight | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | Male Only |
| Featherweight | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | Male Only |
| Lightweight | 170 lbs (77.1kg) | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | Male Only |
| Light Heavyweight | 225 lbs (102.1kg) | 205 lbs (93kg) | Male Only |
As can be seen from the table, women only compete in the atomweight division, while men compete in 6 weight classes starting from strawweight up to light heavyweight for a combined total of 7.
The ONE Championship kickboxing weight classes don’t include welterweight or middleweight as the promotion hasn’t enough talent, but they do have enough talent for the light heavyweight division which is why there’s a gap.
ONE Championship Muay Thai Weight Classes
| Weight Class | Upper Limit | Lower Limit | Gender |
| Atomweight | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | 105 lbs (47.6kg) | Female Only |
| Strawweight | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | 115 lbs (52.2kg) | Male / Female |
| Flyweight | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | Male Only |
| Bantamweight | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | Male Only |
| Featherweight | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | 145 lbs (65.8kg) | Male Only |
| Lightweight | 170 lbs (77.1kg) | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | Male Only |
As can be seen from the table, men compete in 5 of the 6 ONE Championship muay Thai weight classes, while women compete in 2 of the 6, for a total of 7 ONE Championship muay Thai weight classes if counting both genders.
There’s likely to be more ONE Championship muay Thai weight classes in the future, as they’ve already grown so quickly.
It wasn’t until 18 May 2018 at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams that the inaugural champion came to be. Sam-A Gaiyanghadao beat Sergio Wielzen in the ONE flyweight title fight.
ONE Championship Submission Grappling Weight Classes
| Weight Class | Upper Limit | Lower Limit | Gender |
| Flyweight | 135 lbs (61.2kg) | 125 lbs (56.7kg) | Male Only |
| Lightweight | 170 lbs (77.1kg) | 155 lbs (70.3kg) | Male Only |
There are only two ONE Championship submission grappling weight classes: flyweight and lightweight. Women don’t compete in ONE Championship submission grappling.
As submission grappling only held its first ONE Championship fight on 26 May 2017, its weight classes are underdeveloped as the sport is still young.
In the future, it’s highly likely more submission grappling weight classes will be added as the sport grows.
Also, it wasn’t until 1 October 2022 at ONE on Prime Video 2 that the first submission grappling belt was awarded.
Mikey Musumeci earned the belt and became the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling Champion by beating Cleber Souza.
Why Does ONE Championship Have Different Weight Classes?
Compared to the UFC and other MMA promotions that adhere to the Official Unified Rules of MMA, ONE Championship’s weight classes of the same name are 10 lbs heavier.
For example, in the UFC, fighters in the flyweight division have to weigh in at 125 lbs, but in ONE Championship flyweights weigh in at 135 lbs.
ONE Championship has different weight classes to most other MMA promotions because of their hydration system which stops fighters from cutting weight.
They want their fighters to compete at their natural weight.
Fighters are weighed throughout their fight camp and at the start of fight week to find their ‘walking weight’.
Their walking weight needs to be under the upper limit of their contracted weight class as it will be their weigh-in weight and also their fight weight.
They’re again weighed 3 hours before the fight to make sure there haven’t been any large fluctuations.
Along with being regularly weighed, fighters are also hydration tested via urine-specific gravity tests the day before a fight to make sure they’re not cutting water weight.
Fighters must have a urine-specific gravity value of 1.025 or below to pass the test.
Any fighters failing these tests have a second hydration test on fight day. If they again fail the test on fight day, they’re disqualified from fighting.
The new ONE Championship Weight Classes and hydration tests were introduced in 2016 following the death of ONE Championship fighter, Yang Jian Bing, who died as a result of dehydration (weight cutting).
Also different from other MMA promotions is how ONE Championship has a men’s strawweight weight class and a women’s atomweight weight class.
This is because ONE Championship is based in Asia and has the talent to fill these lower weight classes, whereas American and European promotions struggle.
The Bottom Line
ONE Championship has 10 weight classes and MMA is the only combat sport to use all 10.
MMA totals 13 if counting individual weight classes across both genders, kickboxing uses 7 weight classes across both genders, muay Thai uses 6 weight classes and 7 if counting both genders and submission grappling uses only 2 divisions which are male only.
