UFC president Dana White answer all questions surrounding the current fate of the 125-pound division.
For a while now, there have been talks about the UFC flyweight division being eradicated completely. The conversation was first brought up by former long-time 125-pound champion Demetrious Johnson in mid-2017, when he claimed that company president Dana White threated to close down the entire division.
Further reports in late 2018 claimed that the UFC was indeed planning to dissolve the weight class by the end of that year. At the time, Jose “Shorty” Torres was the first 125-pounder to be released with two fights remaining in his contract.
But when asked during the UFC 238 post-fight presser, White was singing a different tune, based primarily on Henry Cejudo’s performance against Marlon Moraes during the main event.
“100%. Obviously, him winning had a lot to do with the division,” White told reporters, speaking of Cejudo’s victory.
“Have I said that it’s going away? Did I say it’s leaving?” White then asked. “I haven’t even talked about that division in months.”
MMA Junkie’s John Morgan then goaded White to making a statement regarding the division’s fate with finality.
“I just did. It is confirmed (that the division is sticking around).”
As of early May, the UFC continued with its release of flyweight fighters like Magomed Bibulatov, who was cut after going 1-2 with the promotion. It was believed his release was more rooted to the supposed plans of scrapping the weight class more than his subpar win-loss record.
The UFC only has 12 fighters in their current flyweight rankings, which is not even enough to round out a top 15.