UFC 187 is an important night for the flyweights, as two key matchups will take place Saturday and could provide us with the next flyweight title contender. John “The Magician” Dodson will make his return to action against Zach Makovsky on the preliminary card, and Joseph Benavidez will battle John Moraga in the pay-per-view main card opener.
We haven’t seen Dodson in the Octagon since his June 2014 TKO victory over Moraga because he was sidelined with a torn ACL that required surgery last July. At the time, he was thought to be the next challenger for Demetrious Johnson. However, the injury took him out of the immediate conversation, and a win over Makovsky would put him right back in.
Dodson’s 2013 championship fight against Johnson has served as his only defeat inside the Octagon and one of Johnson’s closest fights at flyweight. He holds a first-round TKO win over current bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and is considered one of the few remaining interesting matchups for Johnson at flyweight.
Benavidez has already had his first and second chances against Mighty Mouse and came up short both times. The two fought in the first ever UFC flyweight championship fight, and Benavidez dropped the decision to Johnson. He worked his way back up the ladder but suffered a devastating knockout loss in one of Johnson’s most impressive performances to date in their rematch in late 2013.
Benavidez has been utterly dominant against everyone other than Johnson lately, and he might be the best flyweight in the division not named Mighty Mouse. But he’ll only be given so many opportunities to climb back to the top, and each climb gets longer and more arduous.
He might be able to best Moraga on Saturday, but will three straight victories be enough to get a third crack at Johnson?
If Dodson goes and does what he does to put Makovsky away impressively, he’ll most likely be the next challenger for the title. Although we haven’t seen much in the weakness department from the champion, Dodson’s hands are hard to deny, and people will still want to see that rematch.
For Moraga and Makovsky, UFC 187 is a chance to take someone’s spot at the top.
Dodson and Benavidez are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and have been in those spots for quite some time. If Makovsky can derail the comeback of Dodson, he’d be hard to argue for the shot himself. He’s a former Bellator bantamweight champion and has won five of his last six fights.
It hasn’t been decided by the UFC who will fight for the flyweight title next, but we will probably have a clear idea come Sunday morning. We may end up with an emphatic victory in both fights that requires a title eliminator, or we have our next flyweight title challenger. We could be looking at the first round of another flyweight tournament.
UFC 187 is a big night for the little guys. For Dodson and Benavidez, it is about holding onto their top spots and reminding fans why they belong at the very top of the division.
The stakes are high for the flyweights at UFC 187, and we should be in for some very high-level, fast-paced fights.
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