Kampmann dropping to 170?

[carbondioxide830]

Coming off his first-ever UFC loss -- and just the second defeat of his professional career -- UFC middleweight Martin Kampmann (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) could finally pull the trigger on a move down to welterweight.

Over the weekend, Kampmann told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) that he's been considering a drop to 170 pounds.

The Xtreme Couture fighter said he's received encouragement from many of his teammates, including team leader and current UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture.

Kampmann, 26, fought this past weekend at "UFC 88: Breakthrough" in just his second fight back since a significant knee injury (and two subsequent knee surgeries) that kept him sidelined for more than 16 months. Although he returned with a quick submission victory over Jorge Rivera in June, Kampmann suffered a first-round TKO to Nate Marquardt this past weekend.

Kampmann mentioned the possible move to welterweight prior to the loss.

"On the morning of (UFC 88) weigh-ins, Martin was eating breakfast with nothing to worry about," said Kampmann's agent, Ken Pavia. "He's been considering the move for a while now. He's a pretty small middleweight."

Kampmann had been considered a top middleweight contender prior to UFC 88. With the loss, he's now at least a few fights -- and possibly more than a year -- away from a shot at the belt, which is currently held by Anderson Silva.

However, things wouldn't get much easier in the UFC's deep 170-pound division. A small army of contenders -- including Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, just to name a few -- are jockeying for the chance to fight current title-holder Georges St. Pierre. (St. Pierre, though, is expected to first fight current lightweight champ B.J. Penn on Jan. 31.)

UFC's Martin Kampmann considering move to 170 pounds | MMAjunkie.com

[leedogg900]

he is small for 185 and i think moving to 170 would be a good thing for him.

[atj-lucko]

They guy looks like a big LW at best, he's gonna look small against GSP.
Good move, he's gonna be great a WW.

[DaTruThHurTs]

Yeah i have always thought that Martin looked pretty small to be a middle weight, i doubt he cuts more than 10 lbs to make weight if that. I think he would do really good at 170...that fight with nate he looked Very small compared to nate in sheer muscle mass and size and their relativily the same height so he either needs a whole bunch of Growth Hromone (jk lol) and protein or suckit up and cut an extra 20 lbs like most ww do anyway.

I am itching to see his striking skills....i know he's very technical but he has won most of his fights by submission....i wanna know how is power is and by all those shots he took from nate i would venture to say he has a pretty good chin.

[grhunt]

Usually I am not a fan of hearing that fighters are dropping weight classes or having people say that fighters should drop a weight class after a loss but this makes sense. Kampmann looked extremely undersized compared to marquardt and a move the the talent rich weight class should be a good move for him. His size advantage now and striking ability should put him in the mix with the likes of diego, fitch etc

[travtera]

In both his fights against Leites and McFedries he looked over powered and out muscled only to get the win through his superior technique. Standing next to his opponents he looks half their size. He could truly be a force at WW and a welcome addition to freshen up the ranks.

[jukon]

I was wondering about this myself. Nate looked HUUGE compared to Martin. It was hard to believe they were fighting in the same class. And yeah, it's not like Martin would be the biggest WW out there. Maybe 3rd after Fitch and GSP.

I still think Martin could beat more than 80% of the middleweights in the UFC.

[Problematique]

I'd like to see him in WW.
Needs more strikers.

[jukon]

I don't think Martin is used to MMA's smaller gloves. He may be a Danish kickboxing champ, but I think striking is his weakest aspect. He's shown some really slick jiu-jitsu. I can't wait til he finishes adapting his striking to MMA.

[blah]

Originally Posted by carbondioxide830

UFC's Martin Kampmann considering move to 170 pounds | MMAjunkie.com

i would have been more pleased with a "Kampmann considering ways to prevent himself from getting rocked/hurt/dropped in the early moments of a bout?" headline.