UFC veteran Eric Schafer moves to middleweight

After nearly his entire career has been spent in the finer-dinning of the light heavyweight division, Eric Schafer will be making the drop to the 185-pound class.

The former UFC fighter last competed under the Zuffa banner when he was bested by budding prospect Jason Brilz last March, by unanimous decision. The loss marked two-in-a-row for the Duke Roufus product, and signaled his untimely release from the promotion.

Now in hopes of re-entering the big show, Schafer wants to reinvent himself since coming off successful surgery, and the only way “Red” can do that is by shedding some pounds and making an impact as a middleweight.

“What I want to do is drop down to 185 pounds,” said the 33-year-old Schafer who recently spoke with Sherdog.com about his future.

“I want to be skinnier and be faster to take advantage of my quickness. Instead of bulking up and then cutting to 205, I’m just going to walk around at 210 pounds and make a more natural cut to 185. It’ll still be a tough division, but I think I’ll be able to fight more to my level of ability.”

Though Eric had been sidelined from professional competition in the world of mixed martial arts till now with a dislocated wrist suffered in his fight against Brilz, he has been anything but nostalgic about his career. In fact, since his time spent away from the cage, Schafer has opened up his own academy (Eric “Red” Schafer Mixed Martial Arts in Milwaukee) and has competed exclusively on the Jiu-Jitsu circuit with a heavily taped up wrist, sharpening his tools for when he returns to the cage.

The 34-year-old is hoping for a February return and looks forward to a strenuous eight-week training camp in the foreseeable future. No opponent has been named as his next, however anyone who fight’s the new and improved Schafer will know that they are in a fight.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Eric and his return to mixed martial arts? Of course every fighter, their whole reason for being is to become a champion and compete in the UFC–can the Jiu-Jitsu black belt return back to the top? Sound off in the comment section below.