It was the first-ever fight for the UFC flyweight title, and now both the original champion and challenger will get back in the Octagon to do it again.
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will make his next title defense against th…
It was the first-ever fight for the UFC flyweight title, and now both the original champion and challenger will get back in the Octagon to do it again.
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will make his next title defense against the man he defeated to capture the belt, Joseph Benavidez. The two fighters have agreed to meet at The Ultimate Fighter 18 finale slated for November 30 in Las Vegas, according to a report from UFC Tonight.
Johnson and Benavidez first met at UFC 152 in September 2012 to crown the first-ever flyweight champion after a four-man tournament took place earlier in the year. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Johnson stood tall as champion after winning a close decision.
Since that time, both fighters have won all their subsequent bouts in the division.
Johnson has gone on to defend his flyweight title on two occasions. He picked up a decision victory over John Dodson in January and most recently submitted John Moraga in his hometown of Seattle at UFC on Fox 8 in July.
In his last fight, the champ put on a nearly flawless performance as he dominated Moraga en route to a fifth-round armbar finish.
Meanwhile, Benavidez has done everything necessary to get back into the title picture since losing to Johnson last year.
The former WEC contender has gone on a blistering run of late with three wins in a row. He defeated Ian McCall by decision to start the run and then smashed Darren Uyenoyama and JussierFormiga in back-to-back fights by TKO.
Under the tutelage of coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Benavidez has been reborn as a new fighter along with his teammates at Team Alpha Male, and he’ll get the chance to prove that when he faces Johnson in November.
The bout between Johnson and Benavidez will headline the stacked card headed to Fox Sports 1 on Nov. 30. In addition to the main event, Gray Maynard and Nate Diaz will meet for the third time in a lightweight showdown, while the final fights in the men’s and women’s bantamweight divisions from The Ultimate Fighter will also take place on the card.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
To me, the most impressive thing about Demetrious Johnson’s performance against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8 last weekend was the fact that Johnson won the fight via fifth-round stoppage — only the fourth time in the history of the UFC that a match has ended in the fifth stanza.
The win also got me thinking: What are some of the other latest finishes in UFC history? Luckily, I did the work so you don’t have to. Here’s a list of the top 10 latest stoppages in UFC history since UFC 21, the first event to utilize the now-standard five-round, five-minute format for title fights.
(Note that since UFC 138 in 2011, many non-title fight main events have also been scheduled for five rounds, but only one such bout made this list.)
1. UFC on FOX 8: Demetrious Johnson def. John Moraga via submission (armbar), 3:43 of round five
Believe it or not, you were all witnessing history on Saturday when Johnson submitted Moraga, as “Mighty Mouse” now holds the record for the latest stoppage victory in the history of the UFC. That’s an amazing feat when you considering that the UFC has staged thousands of bouts over the years, and it’s even more amazing when you consider that the flyweights aren’t known for finishing their opponents. The fight was a testament to Johnson’s will and determination to look for the finish for the full 25 minutes, the mark of a true champion.
To me, the most impressive thing about Demetrious Johnson’s performance against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8 last weekend was the fact that Johnson won the fight via fifth-round stoppage — only the fourth time in the history of the UFC that a match has ended in the fifth stanza.
The win also got me thinking: What are some of the other latest finishes in UFC history? Luckily, I did the work so you don’t have to. Here’s a list of the top 10 latest stoppages in UFC history since UFC 21, the first event to utilize the now-standard five-round, five-minute format for title fights.
(Note that since UFC 138 in 2011, many non-title fight main events have also been scheduled for five rounds, but only one such bout made this list.)
1. UFC on FOX 8: Demetrious Johnson def. John Moraga via submission (armbar), 3:43 of round five
Believe it or not, you were all witnessing history on Saturday when Johnson submitted Moraga, as “Mighty Mouse” now holds the record for the latest stoppage victory in the history of the UFC. That’s an amazing feat when you considering that the UFC has staged thousands of bouts over the years, and it’s even more amazing when you consider that the flyweights aren’t known for finishing their opponents. The fight was a testament to Johnson’s will and determination to look for the finish for the full 25 minutes, the mark of a true champion.
Next up on the list is my personal favorite, and it’s none other than the main event of UFC 117 when Anderson Silva submitted Chael Sonnen with less than two minutes remaining in the fight, to once again defend his UFC middleweight title.
Heading into round five, Sonnen was well on his way to earning a decision victory over Silva, which would have made him the first man to defeat “The Spider” in the Octagon. But Silva showed that he didn’t want to give up his belt that night as he locked in the hail-mary submission and forced the tap out on Sonnen in a fight that, until this past weekend, was the latest stoppage in the history of the UFC.
With Josh Barnett getting popped for steroids and stripped of his title, the UFC heavyweight championship was up for grabs and the promotion booked former champion Randy Couture to take on Ricco Rodriguez for the vacant strap in the main event of UFC 39: The Warriors Return.
But instead of Couture earning another one of his signature wins over a larger opponent, Rodriguez was the better man that night, as he was able to stop Couture via submission after hitting him with ground and pound so brutal that Couture, a fighter known for his incredible heart, was forced to give up.
4. UFC 107: BJ Penn def. Diego Sanchez via TKO (doctor stoppage), 2:37 of round five
(Photo via Sherdog)
The first of two BJ Penn fights to appear on this list was his UFC 107 fight against Diego Sanchez, a fight that Penn won in the fifth round after cuts on Sanchez’ face forced the doctor to wave off the match. Penn beat the living snot out of Sanchez in this fight and the only reason it lasted so long is because Sanchez is tough as nails.
5. UFC 94: Georges St-Pierre def. BJ Penn via TKO (corner stoppage), 5:00 of round four
(Photo via Getty)
One of Georges St-Pierre’s rare stoppage wins took place at UFC 94, where he beat the stuffing out of BJ Penn so badly that the tough-as-nails Hawaiian’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the fourth round. It’s a testament to Penn’s toughness that he wasn’t the one who forced the stop to the fight, but this fight took a lot out of Penn, and the Prodigy has never looked the same as a welterweight since then.
By the way, this was the last stoppage victory recorded by St-Pierre — and it took place all the way back in 2009, meaning the Canadian welterweight champ hasn’t recorded a stoppage win since the last decade.
6. UFC 22: Frank Shamrock def. Tito Ortiz via submission (punches), 4:42 of round four
(Photo via FCFighter)
The oldest fight to appear on this list and the only fight to take place in the 1990s took place at UFC 22 in 1999 when Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz delivered one of the greatest fights of all time, a bout that ended late in the fourth round after Shamrock overwhelmed Ortiz with strikes and forced him to tap out.
Shamrock defended the UFC light heavyweight championship for the last time in this fight, as he retired from the sport — temporarily, anyways — and relinquished the title, only to see Ortiz later win the vacant belt and then earn the record for consecutive title defenses at 205 pounds.
In my opinion, this is one of the most important matches in the history of the UFC and if you’ve never seen a tape of this match — it’s not available on DVD so you’ll have to look hard — I implore you to do everything in your power to find one, as this is an amazing fight that deserves to be watched by everyone who calls themselves a fan of MMA.
On the next page: A non-title bout makes the list, more thrills from the lightweight division, and ten fun facts about late finishes in the UFC.
(Robbie’s body may have been in the Octagon at that moment, but in his mind, he was already making it rain at Little Darlings. / Photo via Getty Images)
According to figures released by the Washington State Department of Licensing, the UFC paid out $1,050,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 24 fighters who competed at UFC on FOX 8: Johnson vs. Moraga on Saturday, led by main card slugger Robbie Lawler, who took in $156,000 including his win bonus and Knockout of the Night bonus. Three other fighters broke into six-figure territory thanks to their end-of-night bonuses, including Melvin Guillard, Ed Herman, and flyweight headliner Demetrious Johnson.
Check out the full salary list below, courtesy of MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that the figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships or undisclosed “locker room bonuses.”
Demetrious Johnson: $108,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus, $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. John Moraga: $17,000
(Robbie’s body may have been in the Octagon at that moment, but in his mind, he was already making it rain at Little Darlings. / Photo via Getty Images)
According to figures released by the Washington State Department of Licensing, the UFC paid out $1,050,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 24 fighters who competed at UFC on FOX 8: Johnson vs. Moraga on Saturday, led by main card slugger Robbie Lawler, who took in $156,000 including his win bonus and Knockout of the Night bonus. Three other fighters broke into six-figure territory thanks to their end-of-night bonuses, including Melvin Guillard, Ed Herman, and flyweight headliner Demetrious Johnson.
Check out the full salary list below, courtesy of MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that the figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships or undisclosed “locker room bonuses.”
Demetrious Johnson: $108,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus, $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. John Moraga: $17,000
Ed Herman: $124,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Trevor Smith: $58,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Underpaid: The end of a pioneering 16-year career, and Aaron Riley only made $14,000 to show. Jesus. We hope he was able to save some of his career earnings, instead of spending it all on ramen noodles. As for Michael Chiesa‘s $15,000 purse, well…it’s comforting to know that The Ultimate Fighter‘s wonderful “six-figure contract” hasn’t changed since season one.
(Robbie’s body may have been in the Octagon at that moment, but in his mind, he was already making it rain at Little Darlings. / Photo via Getty Images)
According to figures released by the Washington State Department of Licensing, the UFC paid out $1,050,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 24 fighters who competed at UFC on FOX 8: Johnson vs. Moraga on Saturday, led by main card slugger Robbie Lawler, who took in $156,000 including his win bonus and Knockout of the Night bonus. Three other fighters broke into six-figure territory thanks to their end-of-night bonuses, including Melvin Guillard, Ed Herman, and flyweight headliner Demetrious Johnson.
Check out the full salary list below, courtesy of MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that the figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships or undisclosed “locker room bonuses.”
Demetrious Johnson: $108,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus, $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. John Moraga: $17,000
(Robbie’s body may have been in the Octagon at that moment, but in his mind, he was already making it rain at Little Darlings. / Photo via Getty Images)
According to figures released by the Washington State Department of Licensing, the UFC paid out $1,050,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 24 fighters who competed at UFC on FOX 8: Johnson vs. Moraga on Saturday, led by main card slugger Robbie Lawler, who took in $156,000 including his win bonus and Knockout of the Night bonus. Three other fighters broke into six-figure territory thanks to their end-of-night bonuses, including Melvin Guillard, Ed Herman, and flyweight headliner Demetrious Johnson.
Check out the full salary list below, courtesy of MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that the figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships or undisclosed “locker room bonuses.”
Demetrious Johnson: $108,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus, $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. John Moraga: $17,000
Ed Herman: $124,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Trevor Smith: $58,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Underpaid: The end of a pioneering 16-year career, and Aaron Riley only made $14,000 to show. Jesus. We hope he was able to save some of his career earnings, instead of spending it all on ramen noodles. As for Michael Chiesa‘s $15,000 purse, well…it’s comforting to know that The Ultimate Fighter‘s wonderful “six-figure contract” hasn’t changed since season one.
(It’s insulting to compare flyweights to children because of their size. They’re grown men, okay? Grown men who just happen to be sponsored by video games and candy. / Photo via Getty Images)
The flyweight division doesn’t serve a purpose in the UFC — at least not a good purpose.
Now, do us both a favor and read the whole article before you go to the comments.
The oft-mentioned casual fan — you know, the kind of person who’s decked out in TapouT gear, plays UFC Personal Trainer, and thinks “MMA” is an acronym for some kind of governmental organization and not a sport — doesn’t care about the UFC’s flyweight division and never has. This fact hasn’t been more brutally apparent than it is now.
UFC on FOX 8, headlined by a flyweight title fight between champ Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Moraga, drew a paltry live gate of $735,000. Just under 8,000 fans were present. The amount of comped tickets wasn’t revealed. When the UFC visited Seattle back in December with a non-flyweight main event, the attendance and live gate were twice as high.
The event wasn’t a success in terms of TV viewership either. Despite winning the night in the 18-49 year old demographic, their numbers with that demographic were down 40% since the last FOX event. The FOX portion of the card was viewed by an average of 2.04 million viewers. To put that into perspective, more people watched a rerun of Cops that aired on FOX the previous Saturday in the same time slot than were watching LIVE UFC ACTION!!! Not only did “Johnson vs. Moraga” draw the fewest viewers of any UFC on FOX event, it was the lowest-rated MMA event ever on network television.
The numbers don’t lie. Flyweight is the Ryan Leaf of the UFC’s weight classes. So why not get rid of it?
(It’s insulting to compare flyweights to children because of their size. They’re grown men, okay? Grown men who just happen to be sponsored by video games and candy. / Photo via Getty Images)
The flyweight division doesn’t serve a purpose in the UFC — at least not a good purpose.
Now, do us both a favor and read the whole article before you go to the comments.
The oft-mentioned casual fan — you know, the kind of person who’s decked out in TapouT gear, plays UFC Personal Trainer, and thinks “MMA” is an acronym for some kind of governmental organization and not a sport — doesn’t care about the UFC’s flyweight division and never has. This fact hasn’t been more brutally apparent than it is now.
UFC on FOX 8, headlined by a flyweight title fight between champ Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Moraga, drew a paltry live gate of $735,000. Just under 8,000 fans were present. The amount of comped tickets wasn’t revealed. When the UFC visited Seattle back in December with a non-flyweight main event, the attendance and live gate were twice as high.
The event wasn’t a success in terms of TV viewership either. Despite winning the night in the 18-49 year old demographic, their numbers with that demographic were down 40% since the last FOX event. The FOX portion of the card was viewed by an average of 2.04 million viewers. To put that into perspective, more people watched a rerun of Cops that aired on FOX the previous Saturday in the same time slot than were watching LIVE UFC ACTION!!! Not only did “Johnson vs. Moraga” draw the fewest viewers of any UFC on FOX event, it was the lowest-rated MMA event ever on network television.
The numbers don’t lie. Flyweight is the Ryan Leaf of the UFC’s weight classes. So why not get rid of it?
Flyweight apologists might say that it’s too early to apply such a dubious distinction to the 125 lbs. division and that things will be just fine. “Just give it time and the fans will be wowed by how technical and amazing the flyweights are,” they’ll argue. The biggest flyweight apologist of them all, Demetrious Johnson, clings to this theory as well.
“I think the flyweights are doing pretty well so far. I mean yeah a lot of people still don’t know about us, but it’s just going to take time,” Johnson said on Bleacher Report’s MMA’s Great Debate show. “It’s only been since March of this year that it’s been one year since introducing the flyweight division. I think the roster’s still growing. I think we’re still getting known to the public.”
Translation without the bullshit: It’s been roughly 16 months since the flyweight division debuted in the UFC. Flyweight fighters have been featured prominently on FX and FOX, yet the division isn’t much better off than when it started. We’ve given it time, and it still hasn’t won people over. There are only 16 flyweight fighters in the UFC — 16. Think about that for a second. There are more playable characters in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 than there are fighters in the flyweight division. A roster of 16 fighters means that the top-10 comprises more than half of the weight class.
What’s the point of a division with fewer than 20 guys, none of whom the fans care about enough to watch on free television, let alone pay to see? What’s the point of a division where a John Moraga — the guy who just challenged for the world flyweight title — had never fought outside the Facebook prelims before being thrust into a title fight?
The flyweight division has no point outside of determining the answer to a question that fans didn’t ask: Who is the toughest 125-pound man on the planet?
There’s no shame in removing a division of fighters who can’t draw. The hardcore fans would bitch. The media would bitch (though a percentage of them would probably be thankful). The casual fans and the rest of the world outside of the MMA bubble wouldn’t know the difference.
This isn’t to denigrate the athletes, though. They’re all gifted and fight with phenomenal speed and conditioning. And, personally, I don’t mind watching the flyweights at all. It’s amazing to see athletes fight at a breakneck pace for 25 minutes. I’m not trying to insult them or what they do. I understand that there are people who love the flyweights but, to the less-educated majority of fans (read: those who think Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar are the best “ultimate fighters” of all time), flyweight fights are piss-break matches — and that’s not going to change. And if that’s not going to change, why keep the weight class around?
The flyweight division doesn’t sell tickets or pay-per-views. It doesn’t wow viewers. In fact, it does the opposite. It’s useless to fans and offers nothing to the UFC except filled space on a card.
That’s another point to mention. The UFC is running way more events then it used to, so it needs as many warm bodies as possible to market as “UFC CHAMPIONS.” That’s where the flyweights come in. How many more “TOP TEN™” fights and title fights can the UFC say they’re offering us now that they’ve added the flyweights? MMA historian Jonathan Snowden referred to this phenomenon as “creating the illusion of importance for UFC television cards lacking oomph.”
But that doesn’t mean that the UFC has to keep flyweights. They’re not a necessity. The UFC can disband the flyweight division and then get other fighters to fill card space, fighters that at least have a chance of becoming popular. Fans tune in to see fighters they want to see, not fighters they’ve never heard of winning accolades they perceive as meaningless.
There is another justification for the flyweight division’s existence, though. It’s possible (and likely) that the weight-class was meant to give a home to the fighters that Zuffa would no doubt be signing as it expanded into China, Singapore, and Asia as a whole. It looked like that theory would be coming true with the announcement of TUF China but, alas, TUF China is looking for featherweights, lightweights, and welterweights. Flyweight will not be getting an influx of new fighters from overseas, at least not yet. And even if it was, the foreign fighters might make the division worse. How long were we told that Tiequan Zhang was the baddest Chinese fighter on the planet only for him to go 1-3 in the UFC while fighting mostly low-level athletes?
If Zhang is the best that China has to offer, what will future Chinese imports be like? And what about the flyweights from other countries in that part of the world whose MMA scenes aren’t as developed? Once these guys get in the UFC, they’ll turn flyweight from a shallow division that nobody cares about into a division populated by shitty fighters that even fewer people will care about. What’ll be worse is that the UFC will still try to shove it down our throats. “Come see the AMAZING flyweights go at it! See the PIONEERS of Chinese/Singaporean/Filipino/Wherever MMA and the STARS of the 125-pound weight class!”
Thus, flyweight is, at best, a weight class founded to artificially inflate the importance of fight cards and to serve as a glorified advertising vehicle for the UFC’s efforts abroad. Yet it’s failing in both of those missions.
The prideful UFC will likely never pull the plug on the flyweight division but they won’t have to. Over time, it’ll fade into abject irrelevance on its own. The dutiful media members will commit names and fighter records to memory and write articles about tiny-sized triumphs all while the casual fans at home go “125 pounds? I could throw that guy through the wall,” right before they change the channel.
Every time American Ninja Warrior comes onto the only television with cable in my apartment (relax, it’s a big screen. A projection big screen.), my roommate scoffs at it and launches into a rant about how superior the original, Japanese version is. The same goes for Wipeout/MXC/Takeshi’s Castle and of course, Iron Chef. And while he’s undoubtedly correct in his assertion that the American versions of these shows are “padded down, pussified desecrations of a once noble culture,” I still give my respect to the contestants brave (or simply patient) enough to secure a spot on any of them. Except Wipeout. I’m convinced that morbidly obese troglodytes with tourrettes are the only people allowed to compete on that show.
In any case, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson recently made an appearance on the Americanized Ninja Warrior, and it’s a testament to how difficult the show is that he wasn’t able to make it past the first stage. This is one of the quickest fighters in the UFC — a 125-pound ball of energy with “ninja, Matrix moves” who regularly competes in such events as Tough Mudder — and yet even he was humbled by the imaginatively-titled “Grip Hang.”
Like his previous battle with Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX 6, “The Magician” put in a strong effort on Ninja Warrior but ultimately came up…short (*shimmies, shimmies*). My God, I have never felt so great about being 5’9″. SUCK IT, NERDS.
Every time American Ninja Warrior comes onto the only television with cable in my apartment (relax, it’s a big screen. A projection big screen.), my roommate scoffs at it and launches into a rant about how superior the original, Japanese version is. The same goes for Wipeout/MXC/Takeshi’s Castle and of course, Iron Chef. And while he’s undoubtedly correct in his assertion that the American versions of these shows are “padded down, pussified desecrations of a once noble culture,” I still give my respect to the contestants brave (or simply patient) enough to secure a spot on any of them. Except Wipeout. I’m convinced that morbidly obese troglodytes with tourrettes are the only people allowed to compete on that show.
In any case, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson recently made an appearance on the Americanized Ninja Warrior, and it’s a testament to how difficult the show is that he wasn’t able to make it past the first stage. This is one of the quickest fighters in the UFC — a 125-pound ball of energy with “ninja, Matrix moves” who regularly competes in such events as Tough Mudder – and yet even he was humbled by the imaginatively-titled “Grip Hang.”
Like his previous battle with Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX 6, “The Magician” put in a strong effort on Ninja Warrior but ultimately came up…short (*shimmies, shimmies*). My God, I have never felt so great about being 5’9″. SUCK IT, NERDS.
