Time for flyweights to make history in UFC

Always looking to evolve and add crops of exciting fights to their events, the UFC debuts their flyweight division this Friday night on UFC on FX 2 with two fights in a tournament style setting to declare the division’s inaugural champion.

Joseph Benavidez is the favorite to win the UFC's flyweight title,
but will that last after his bout against Yasuhiro Urushitani.

Taking part in the tournament are former WEC bantamweight Ian McCall who takes on former UFC bantamweight contender Demetrius Johnson. Former Shooto Bantamweight (123 lb.) Champion Yasuhiro Urushitani will be up against the odds on favorite to win the tournament Joseph Benavidez. McCall and Urushitani are UFC newcomers whereas Johnson and Benavidez are former UFC bantamweight contenders.

Benavidez, who fights out of Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male, is on a three-fight win streak and is said to be the most natural flyweight the UFC has. He comes into this bout with a record of 15-2 with his only losses coming via decision to UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.

Benavidez’s opponent comes in with a similar impressive win streak. Urushitani has not lost a bout since 2008, going 5-0, while fighting in Japan’s Shooto promotion while successfully winning and defending the Shooto bantamweight title.

The other match in this tournament features two former WEC veterans. McCall, the #1 ranked flyweight in the world according to Sherdog.com, was 2-1 in the WEC with his only loss coming against Cruz. Sense a theme? He’s currently on a four-fight win streak, with his last win coming via submission over Darrell Montague at Tachi Palace Fights 10.  

Rounding out the tournament is Demetrius Johnson. Johnson has won four of his last five bouts, with his lone loss coming against…you guessed it, Dominick Cruz. “Mighty Mouse” is 4-2 under the Zuffa umbrella and had been a force in the bantamweight division. Johnson, McCall and Benavidez are all former bantamweights dropping down to 125.

Expect to see several other bantamweights move down to the flyweight division as the smaller 135ers have been waiting for the UFC to expand. There have been numerous fighters that have fought in the bantamweight division solely because it was an opportunity to fight in the UFC. With a new weight class, fighters have a more natural fit.

Just some of the names that will join the flyweight division are TUF 14 winner John Dodson, San Francisco’s Chris Cariaso and South San Francisco’s Darren Uyenoyama. Uyenoyama and Dodson are slated to meet at UFC on FOX 3 in May.

The flyweight division continues to expand, but expect to see a Northern California feel to the division with Benavidez, Cariaso and Uyenoyama being early contenders.


Follow me on Twitter @NiteshDutt.