On Thursday in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the pre-fight press conference for this Saturday’s UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin event, UFC President Dana White told the gathered media that the promotion was planning to add a flyweight (125 lbs) division to the promotion “really soon,” which could mean by the end of this year.
The UFC added the lighter divisions to its roster this past December when the company officially absorbed the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. There had been talk then of the UFC including a 125 lbs division, with talk drying up shortly afterwords, but now has apparently sprung a new well with this latest talk.
Currently only promotions based in Japan, and the U.S. based Tachi Palace Fights, possess flyweight champions. White expects many of the fighters who will populate the division to come from Asian and Hispanic backgrounds, as well as a few of the UFC’s current bantamweight fighters.
“We’re going to add the 125-pound division very soon,” White said. “We have to get out there and create the division — bring guys in, sign them, put on fights, decide who the best is and have a title fight.”
“I think what happens is we’ll see more Asians and Hispanics,” White said. “Guys who normally dominate those weight divisions.”
HT: ESPN.com