The UFC flyweight division has yet to receive much mainstream exposure, but that might change in the coming months.
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is well on his way to wiping out the whole UFC flyweight division. While this won’t ever realistically happen, I believe the moment where fight fans struggle to think of a competitive contender has already passed a year ago. Johnson has been ultra-dominant; out-striking, out-grappling, and out-working all of those who dare try to take his flyweight belt. Johnson’s dominance has lost the interest of many viewers as none of the up-and-comers in the UFC flyweight division seem to garner much hype let alone get behind the technically brilliant 125lb’er. It takes two to tango, and without any prominent contenders, the division will continue to produce low ratings and low interest.
But this all may change as some very important flyweight bouts have materialized as a result of last weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson card. Both flyweight competitors Joseph Benavidez and Justin Scoggins picked up entertaining, dominant wins in their respective bouts. Benavidez shut down Zach Makovsky while Scoggins put on a karate clinic against grappling-ace Ray Borg. While we already know Mighty Mouse’s next opponent – Henry Cejudo, both Benavidez and Scoggins are ones to keep an eye on as they progress toward that UFC flyweight strap.
Justin Scoggins has already received another opponent following his 3-round destruction of Borg, and that next challenge comes in the form of Ben “10” Nguyen. These two will meet at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir which takes place in Brisbane, Australia. Nguyen has starched both of his UFC opponents, and looks to be a future star in the flyweight division; Scoggins also holds the same promise. Seeing these two collide will surely produce one of the most entertaining prospects in the UFC flyweight division. Nguyen has shown to be a lethal striker with fluid mechanics, and a well-versed grappling game to go with it. Scoggins will present a stylistic puzzle for him though as the sideways stance of Scoggins and his steady flow of lead-leg taekwondo techniques is a hard challenge to overcome.
Moving on, Joseph Benavidez has not received another opponent following his win against Zach Makovsky. While an opponent is surely to come, one has to think that a rematch between Benavidez and Johnson isn’t looming in the near future. The two met once at UFC 152 to decide the first ever UFC flyweight champion, and then again on a FOX card in late 2013 with Demetrious Johnson winning both bouts. Benavidez is now on a 5-0 streak since his last defeat to Johnson, and in fact, Johnson has been the only fighter he has lost to since 2010 when Benavidez lost a split decision to Dominick Cruz in the WEC. While “Joe B” may not have much more time left in his career, look for him to get one last shot at the title before leaving the sport.
It’s hard to tell what the UFC’s plan is for the flyweight division because another opportunity that the UFC may seek out is to have Demetrious Johnson move up in weight to take on bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. While some early thoughts were that this superfight was going to be targeted for UFC 200, it seems now because of the Johnson/Cejudo match up that the idea of a Johnson/Cruz superfight will have to wait. If Johnson does decide to move up in weight, this will put the flyweight division on hold. This could mean top contenders fighting other top contenders in a sort of unoffical 4-man tournament (because the UFC doesn’t like labeling things as tournaments). If this does happen, it could be the spark that the UFC flyweight division needs.
