It began as something of a whisper but lately the calls for the UFC to institute a weight class in between their existing lightweight  welterweight divisions have developed into more of an incandescent rumble.

Several ‘tweeners’ exist in the middle of those two weight classes. Some, like Gunnar Nelson for example, are too big to comfortably hit the 155-pound limit, though he remains slightly undersized for welterweight. In addition to Nelson, several other fighters would comfortably fit into this newly-introduced divisions with Ben Askren and even Conor McGregor having the right physical frames for it.

UFC President Dana White, though, isn’t a fan and speaking with the My Mom’s Basement podcast via MMANews, White indicated that there is no chance of this coming to pass — so long as he is in charge, anyway.

“Not in the next seven years,” White, who recently extended his UFC contract for that particular duration, said.

“I’m here for seven more years…when I go, they can make a 180, 165, 122, whatever they want to do when I’m gone they can do. It ain’t happening while I’m here.”

It is a curious position. Longtime fans will recall when there wasn’t even a 155-pound weight class in the UFC, let alone the three separate women’s divisions that currently exist.

“What’s the appeal in it?” White asked. “I think it’s a lot of guys who know they can’t win at either 170 or 155 that would all jump ship. If you look at right now our 170-pound division and our ’55-pound division, they’re stacked. So you got Usman, Woodley, Covington, Wonderboy, Masvidal, Askren, Till, Ponzinibbio, Lawler, Edwards, right? There’s the 170 division.

Lightweights, at ’55, you got Khabib, Tony, Conor, Poirier, Iaquinta, Kevin Lee, who’s moving over to Welterweight to make it even better, Edson Barboza, Gaethje…Cerrone, Felder, Gillespie, Diaz…you build the ’65-pound division, you completely drain both of those divisions. It ain’t happening while I’m here. These divisions are stacked. We have tons of great fights in both divisions. We don’t need a ‘65-pound division.”

So, that’s that then.