MMAJunkie.com reports that UFC President Dana White confirmed that the promotion is looking to add the 125 lb. flyweight division possibly by the end of the year.
“Like, really soon,” White said, revealing the organization’s plans to expand its ranks.
Talk of this addition has been swirling around for years, with White hinting at the WEC adding the division back in 2010, before their merger with the UFC.
In the video above, White told a fan in 2010 at the Boston UFC Fan Expo that the organization would possibly bring flyweight fighters in as early as last year, although the merger has since stilled these talks.
Now that the lighter weight classes are firmly planted under the UFC banner, the time looks right for adding another division.
“We have to get out there; we have to create the division,” White to MMAJunkie.com.
There are many routes the UFC can take to find the first 125 lb. UFC champion. One option is a tournament format, an idea White is surprisingly open to.
“Maybe,” he told MMAJunkie.com. “There’s a lot of options we could do.”
Even just filling out the roster, the UFC has many options in obtaining flyweight warriors, including a drop in weight for some of the UFC’s smaller bantamweights, such as Joseph Benavidez, who has expressed an affinity for the weight class,
Naturally, the UFC would also attract outside talent, including No.1 ranked flyweight Mamoru Yamaguchi, Shooto champion Yasuhiro Urushitani, and Tachi Palace Fights star Jussier da Silva. Promise of fame and a bigger paycheck will certainly gravitate these fighters to the big time show.
Although a time table is not in place, with all the recent changes the UFC has made over the past few months, they seem poised for adding this weight class quite soon.
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