James Vick is the latest name to be added to the ever-growing list of fighters moving up a division in search of greater results and greener pastures.
Over the last several years, myriad competitors have moved divisions, relocating to a new weight class after dropping pounds became too punishing. Some, like Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, had immediate success that led to championship opportunities, while others, like Michael Chiesa, have enjoyed strong starts in their new divisions, shifting stalled careers hampered by dropping heavy amounts of weight into promising futures all by keeping some extra pounds on.
This weekend, Vick makes his first appearance in the UFC as a welterweight following a six-year run at lightweight that yielded a 9-4 record, but ended with a three-fight skid, which is the part that really prompted the towering talent from Fort Worth, Texas to decamp from the 155-pound weight division.