Despite desire for change, Justin McCully staying at heavyweight
After defeating Eddie Sanchez by decision at UFC Fight 16, veteran heavyweight Justin McCully (9-4-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is now 2-1 in the organization's heavyweight division.
And while "The Insane One" feels comfortable continuing on in the heavyweight division, the 32-year-old wouldn't mind seeing an oft-debated additional weight class added to the current system.
"You look at it and you say, 'That's just not fair,'" McCully recently told TAGG Radio (
www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "[UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar] is 280 pounds. He cuts to 265. It was rumored that he was 291 pounds the night he fought Randy (Couture), and Randy weighed in right around 225."
McCully believes the massive weight range allowed in the heavyweight division necessitates a review of the current weight class structure.
"You look that and you say, 'Well why don't they have a class in the middle of that?'" McCully said. "Where's the class that seperates the 206 (pounders) and the 265 (pounders)? Why don't they have a cut-off line at 225 pounds, 230 pounds, and give these guys a fair shake?
"Make it a true heavyweight division, and then make a super-heavyweight division. I really think there's room for that."
While McCully remains firm in his belief that another weight class would be an advantageous to the sport as a whole, he will not allow the current system to keep him from his ultimate goal.
"Since there's not that division, instead of killing myself and cutting to the 205, 206 pound range, I figure let's go for it," McCully said. "Let's put these big guys in the ring and try to put them on their back. Brock's got the title, so he's the guy to shoot for."
McCully knows he still has a little work remaining before he can challenge Lesnar. But with wins over Sanchez and Antoni Hardonk wrapped around a loss to Gabriel Gonzaga, McCully believes his shot is not too far off.
"Being 2-1 against those guys, I see myself as a contender in the division," McCully said. "The division isn't super-stacked. If I was to drop to 205 (pounds), I'd have a serious road to get to a title match. I think where I sit right now in the heavyweight division, mabe I'm two or three fights away from having a serious campaign for the heavyweight title -- and maybe even shorter.
"As we saw, Brock Lesnar at 1-1, he gets a shot at the heavyweight title -- which for me was Easy Street. He didn't have to come in and prove himself very much. He just had to fight a couple guys and look decent, and he got the fight against Randy -- which in my estimation was a little disrespectful. But hey, that's up for the company to decide."
If McCully can rise through the ranks to earn that title show, he believes he has a plan in place to test Lesnar's dominance.
"Brock Lesnar, he's a big individual," McCully said. "He's a big mountain of a man. But I don't think anybody has tested his chin really -- and especially like I'd like to test it. I'd like to put some hands in his face and see how he does with that."
And if the standup game isn't effective, McCully has a backup plan.
"He's a big guy, a big wrestler," McCully said. "He'll take you down. He'll ground you and pound you. And he'll be tough to deal with. But being a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I feel like I can stalemate that and maybe work for some submissions. He seems to be a little but susceptible to some of those.
"Again, I definitely see myself as a contender in the heavyweight division."
