Heading into 2019, most of us guessed there was a fantastic possibility the UFC flyweight division was on its last legs. However, when Henry Cejudo knocked out TJ Dillashaw at the initial round of their bout at UFC Fight Night 143, we believed there was an opportunity the branch could be spared, especially since the UFC declared a couple of other fights at 125lbs for other events.
It looks like that may not be the case, since the marketing has allegedly released several different flyweights.
In accordance with Cejudo, who spoke to the media this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 144, the UFC has released top-ranked flyweights Dustin Ortiz and Matheus Nicolau. Additionally, John Moraga has been eliminated from the UFC’s official rankings, suggesting he too was released. The UFC hasn’t yet commented if these fighters have really officially been published, but normally it’s up to the fighters to inform the fans and media when that happens. Almost anytime somebody has been removed from the rankings for unknown reasons, however, it’s generally because the UFC released them.
Though the UFC flyweight division is obviously on its way out, the decision to cut an excellent fighter like Ortiz is downright shocking, and dare I say, dumb. Ortiz is coming from a competitive unanimous decision loss to Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 143 that was one of the better fights on that card. There is an opportunity Benavidez understands the next crack at Cejudo’s belt, meaning that the UFC simply cut Ortiz coming from a title eliminator. And before this Benavidez struggle, Ortiz had won three straight fights, such as a mind kick knockout over the aforementioned Nicolau, a determination win over Alexandre Pantoja — a gifted flyweight who it appears has been spared from the cuts so far — and also a 15-second KO over Hector Sandoval that was the fastest knockout in UFC flyweight history. If anything, the UFC should have told Ortiz to maneuver up to bantamweight, which Alex Perez seemingly is going to do (in addition to fighters such as Said Nurmagomedov). Releasing such a gifted and fighter like Ortiz outright just looks absurd.
As for Nicolau, he had won all three of his battles in the Octagon before losing to Ortiz, and although he didn’t appear to be a title contender, he provided valuable thickness at 125lbs. He additionally holds a notable win over Moraga, who it seems has also got the boot. That is another cut that shocks me. Moraga was really among the initial flyweights the UFC signed back in 2012, and even though he had an up-and-down UFC profession, he was considered to be a solid gatekeeper and the perfect test for up-and-comers to take on. In his last battle, he had been knocked out by Deiveson Figueiredo, who seems to be one of the couple flyweights the UFC nevertheless has to the roster. There is no reason Moraga couldn’t have stuck around and continued to act in a gatekeeper role. It just seems overly harsh to cut a man who had been one of the few fighters with completing possible in a branch that generally sees fights go the distance.
At this point, it is very bizarre that which the UFC is performing together with the flyweights. If you ask UFC president Dana White, he states that the promotion hasn’t made a decision on the branch, but it seems like every day we’re seeing a flyweight get cut, then the next day we see a flyweight battle reserved. It would be fine if the UFC will create its own mind and cut all of the flyweights or maintain a complete division, because now the fighters don’t have any clue what kind of job security they have going ahead, and that’s not fair to anybody.
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