Ohio introduces a Cruiserweight division for amatuer fights.

Wanting to gather data that could someday bring about a change to the professional mixed-martial-arts ranks, the Ohio Athletic Commission on May 1 will implement a new cruiserweight division for the state's amateur fighters.

The division, which ranges from 206 to 225 pounds, will limit the one-time 60-pound range in the heavyweight division to 40 pounds (226 to 265 pounds).

But Bernie Profato, executive director of the Ohio Athletic Commission, cautions that we're unlikely to see the weight class – one long supported by many in the MMA community – anytime soon in MMA's unified rules.

"Here in Ohio, we want to be in a leadership role," Profato today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Sometimes, the only way to see if something works is to go out there and try it."

The trial run, which doesn't have a specific end date, will allow Profato to gather data and gauge industry insiders on its effectiveness. Ohio, after all, is no better testing ground; the state regulates more MMA shows per year than any other athletic commission, and nearly 27 percent of fighters in the new national amateur-MMA database are from Ohio, Profato said.

Profato, a former amateur boxer and two-time Gold Gloves champion, was also a longtime softball administrator. He said he sometimes would test out new rules in the competitive "super division" in fast-pitch softball, and if successful, they'd introduce the possible rule change to the rest of the sport. He sees the trial run of the cruiserweight division as a similar process.

As for the new division, which has become a hot topic since UFC champions such as Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin have begun pushing the upper limits of the heavyweight class, Profato wants to see if fighters and promoters find relief for the "in-betweeners" who are often too big for the 205-pound light heavyweight division and yet to small to compete with the sport's bigger heavyweights.

"When you see a kid make his (amateur) debut ... or he has less than five fights, and he's 212 or 214 pounds and he's fighting a guy who's 260 or 265, that's just too much," Profato said. "Will the new division work? I don't know. But I'd rather see a kid fight at a comfortable weight than totally dehydrate himself and fight when he's weak.

"Besides, with these (amateur) fighters, this is all new. They're not Randy Couture. The weight-cutting is often still new to them, so this is a way to help them and also level the playing field."

If the feedback is positive, Profato would support implementing the weight class among the pro ranks. However, that could be a long process. First, he would need to gather all the data he can. Then, he'd share his findings with colleague Nick Lembo of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, who's the chairman of the Association of Boxing Commissioners' MMA committee. The proposal would be presented in a well-searched report with input from fighters, promoters, managers, regulators and even media and fans. Other commissions could then weigh in, and conceivably, it could then be adopted into the unified rules of the sport.

"Again, it wouldn't happen overnight," Profato said. "And we wouldn't simply implement it just in Ohio. I would never, ever go against the unified rules. We all go with the unified rules. ... It's important to have that consistency."