Written by Soren Lindseth
With the rematch of the greatest UFC flyweight fight between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo set for June 12th, how does the rest of the division shake out?
The UFC flyweight division is at its best and has more eyes on it than ever before thanks to the exciting fighting style of the current champion Deiveson Figueiredo, as well as the presence of premium contenders who are making their mark.
The UFC flyweight division has long been the most overlooked division in the UFC. The misconception that small fighters are more “boring” paired with the dominance of Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson as champion led to many fans not lending it much credence.
Johnson, who won the inaugural flyweight title via split decision against Joseph Benavidez in 2012, had been truly dominant up until his razor-thin split decision loss to Henry Cejudo in 2018. Between those two aforementioned fights, Johnson had amassed twelve consecutive title defenses, which was and is still the most in UFC history.
After his first defeat since 2011, the UFC would send their under-appreciated star packing to ONE Championship for Ben Askren in a rare trade between promotions. This lead to rumors that the UFC flyweight division would be scrapped, along with the large majority of the fighters that had been competing at 125 pounds.
At the moment of this article being published, Mighty Mouse, who is without a doubt the greatest flyweight in mixed martial arts history, has been knocked out in the 2nd round by Adriano Moraes in an unsuccessful attempt at claiming the ONE Championship flyweight belt.
T.J. Dillashaw, who was the bantamweight champion in the aftermath of the Cejudo upset, volunteered himself as the guy who was going to shut down the flyweight division by defeating Cejudo. The win would have made him the fourth-ever simultaneous double champ.
His plans would backfire, as Cejudo knocked him out in just 32 seconds. To add insult to injury, Dillashaw would test positive for EPO, an injectable performance-enhancing drug. This would lead to Dillashaw being suspended for two years and subsequently stripped of his bantamweight title.
Just like that, the script would flip, and Henry Cejudo would earn the chance to claim the vacated bantamweight belt to become a double champ himself. He would do exactly that, defeating top contender Marlon Moraes. Following a defense of the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz, Cejudo would announce his retirement last May.
Since Cejudo had brought credibility to the flyweight division by claiming the bantamweight title, the weight class remained. A fight between perennial contender Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo was made for his newly-vacated flyweight belt.
Benavidez had been in the UFC since 2011 and was in the WEC prior to Zuffa’s merging of the two organizations. He had fought champions such as Demetrious Johnson and Dominick Cruz. He even had a win over former double champ Henry Cejudo, which prior to the win, had only lost to the aforementioned legends.
Figueiredo, on the other hand, made his UFC debut in 2017. At the time of the fight, he was 5-1 in the UFC and on a two-fight win streak over Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott.
The fight for the vacant flyweight title took place on February 29, 2020. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in the second round of the fight. However, Figueiredo was not eligible to win the belt, due to missing championship weight by two and a half pounds.
After a rematch, which saw Figueiredo easily dominate Benavidez and become the first person to submit him in his career via a rear-naked choke in the first round, Figueiredo would defend his belt easily with another first-round submission against Alex Perez, this one by guillotine choke.
Then came the greatest flyweight fight of all time. The same night Figueiredo would make his first title defense against Perez, Brandon Moreno would dominate Brandon Royval on the undercard. Moreno would get the next shot, taking the champion the entire twenty-five-minute distance in a hard-fought back-and-forth war. The end result was a majority draw, with two judges scoring the fight a draw, while one did have the champ Figueiredo winning.
Figueiredo had been deducted a point in the third round for multiple groin shots, which had been the cause for controversy.
With a rematch booked for June 12, the rest of the division is looking to state their case for the next title shot.
Askar Askarov, who is undefeated at 14-0-1, is the second-ranked flyweight contender and is coming off a dominant decision victory of Joseph Benavidez in March. His previous two wins were against Alexander Pantoja and Tim Elliot, who are currently ranked 3rd and 10th respectively. It is worth noting that those two opponents are who the champion had defeated before being booked for the vacant title.
Given the recency of the Benavidez victory, Askarov has a strong case for getting the next title shot as his next fight.
Next in the rankings is the previously mentioned Alexander Pantoja at number three. In his last fight, he earned a decision victory over former Rizin bantamweight champion Manel Kape.
Considering the loss to Askarov and the fact that he lost to Figueiredo in July 2019, he needs at least one more win to be considered for a title shot. He does hold a win over title challenger Brandon Moreno, which could become rather relevant if Moreno were to win the title.
One potential fight for Pantoja could be the fourth-ranked Alex Perez if he comes out victorious over eighth-ranked Matt Schnell, set to take place at UFC 262 on May 15th.
Prior to his loss to the champion in 2020, Perez had amassed a three-fight win streak. Given that Perez and Pantoja have never fought and are right next to each other at the top of the flyweight rankings, it would only make sense to book this fight if Perez gets past his next test.
It would not make sense for Schnell to step in against Pantoja whatever the outcome may be, as Pantoja knocked Schnell out in the first round of a matchup in December 2019.
Continuing down the rankings, Joseph Benavidez sits in fifth. Although on a three-fight losing streak, with two of those being to the champ and one being to the already named Askarov, Benavidez had racked up three consecutive wins, including one over Alex Perez. Given his veteran status and seeming decline, he may fall into the role of gatekeeper for the flyweight division.
Brandon Royval is 2-1 in the UFC, his most recent being the 1st round TKO loss to Brandon Moreno in November. He has stoppage wins over veterans Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France, who impressed in their last victories at UFC 259. If he can impress in his next fight or two, he will be right there in contention. It is worth noting that Royval has only been finished that one time, his last loss a decision to fellow UFC rising prospect Casey Kenney for the LFA flyweight title in 2018, a title he would win a year later.
With all that being said, what matchups should be made?
It seems abundantly clear that Askar Askarov should face the winner of Figueiredo vs Moreno 2. From there, a matchup between Pantoja and Perez would further clarify the future title picture. Finally, a fight between a seasoned veteran like Benavidez and a fighter who has been in the UFC for under a year in Brandon Royval would determine if Royval is ready to be a bonified contender in the UFC.
The flyweight division, which seemed to be dead just two years ago, has been revived and is now more alive and exciting than ever before.
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