It’s no secret that Dana White, the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has planned on bringing the flyweight division to MMA‘s biggest company. He even stated that he wanted the 125-pound division established before the end of 2011.
That hasn’t happened yet.
Considering that we’re in December, fans might have to wait until at least 2012 before they see some of the best at 125 fighting in the Octagon. Two fighters might change that, though, depending on how they perform in the cage this Saturday.
Much like before the UFC had a featherweight and bantamweight division, The Ultimate Fighter attracted martial artists from lower divisions to compete on the show against bigger men.
Except that this time instead of 145 and 135 pound fighters fighting at 155 pounds, the lightweight limit, it had flyweight fighters competing at bantamweight.
Two fighters made it all the way to spots on the card.
One was Louis Gaudinot, who fought on this season of The Ultimate Fighter but came up short. If he wins, he will help make the case that smaller fighters deserve a shot at the biggest MMA promotion in the world in a weight class they can make.
But he is on the undercard and even if the fights do run short, which because it is a UFC event usually do, he will still be an afterthought.
In truth, there is one fighter who can make even some of the casual fans of the sport rethink their views on the smaller fighters.
It boils down to John Dodson.
Dodson has done well on The Ultimate Fighter by not just making it to the finale to determine who will be crowned the winner of this season, but doing so in an impressive way. Two of his three victories on his way to the top of tonight’s card were by way of knockout. The third was by unanimous decision.
If he wins, he might be able to parlay that into an immediate shot at the UFC flyweight title if it is created.
And if he wins tonight, he just may help make the division a reality a little bit faster.
Some fans might believe that The Ultimate Fighter seasons have petered out and lost their edge. However, even without the change that will occur once it moves to FX, it is still an interesting show that draws decent ratings and gets new fans.
If Dodson can win tonight, he can transfer that success into moderate fame.
And if there is enough of a clamor after his win, it might give White some ideas on making the division.
And it also gives fans both serious and casual another reason to watch the two finalists square off.
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