It's the powerlifter mentality.
Shy away from a competition you can't win.
With half a dozen Feds, million weight and age divisions. Then break it up into gear and raw. Everyone is a champ. They don't really know what it is like to compete and come up through the ranks. Usually even if you are shit you end up coming second or third. Even then if you have a competitive weight class you see people jumping up and down weight classes to avoid the tough competition.