Almost a decade ago, when Demetrious Johnson was the UFC flyweight champion, Dana White was about to shut the division because it wasn’t getting the attention they expected. DJ had a cool personality, undeniable top-level skills, and an interesting story, but his fights still pulled in the lowest numbers.
Then enters Henry Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. In his record-setting 12th title defence, Demetrious lost the belt to Henry in a close split decision. In the aftermath, Mighty Mouse was shockingly traded to ONE Championship in exchange for the all-time entertaining welterweight, Ben Askren, which resulted in the end of an era for the flyweights.
Now, we had a new champion, but the division was still in turmoil. UFC had started releasing many flyweight athletes after Johnson’s departure. The responsibility was on the Olympic gold medalist. First, Henry successfully defended his belt against the then-bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw. Cejudo finished the bigger champion under a minute in an emphatic fashion. Even though it was a Fight Night main event, it still gave flyweights the spotlight they needed, and Henry shone through it.
But Henry himself decided to move to bantamweight to fight for the vacant championship against Marlon Moraes at UFC 238. He finished Magic Moraes and became ‘Triple C’, holding both flyweight and bantamweight belts. After this particular fight, Dana officially announced that the division will stay active by quality performances like the one Henry put on.
Still, many were wondering how this division would thrive if Henry held the belt without defending. But on the contrary, at this time, when Henry was not defending, UFC’s matchmaker, Mick Maynard, was slowly building the 125lbs roster with a new generation of killers.
UFC Flyweight Division: From Almost Shut Down To Becoming The Most Exciting
On February 29th, 2020, Henry vacated his flyweight crown as Deiveson Figueiredo fought Joseph Benavidez for the vacant belt. This was supposed to be a new beginning, but it was halted because Deiveson, even after viciously finishing Joe, was still unable to win the belt cause he missed weight. 6 months later, they fought in a rematch; Figgy made weight this time and finished Joe in an even more terrifying manner.
In November, Figgy made his 1st defence by submitting Alex Perez, another interesting performance. Flyweight was finally getting as thrilling as it was always supposed to be. But fans didn’t know they were about to experience the very exact breakthrough moment of this division in one month. It was UFC 256, Brandon Moreno’s first shot at gold, an empty arena in Las Vegas, and these two went for an absolute war for 5 rounds. The judges scored it a draw, but man, those post-fight words from Moreno will make rounds on social media forever.
And he did what he said: in June 2021, Brandon Moreno submitted Figueiredo and became the new champ. Over the next two years, these two flyweight legends exchanged titles a few times. All fights were either a battle or a major statement. There was also one interim title fight between Moreno and Kai Kara-France. While Figgy and Brandon were ruling the division with their crazy fights, the whole division was stepping up. Then came the day, UFC 290, when Moreno clashed with the legend, Alexandre Pantoja. After an epic back-and-forth fight, Pantoja won the UFC flyweight belt via judges’ decision.
For the next 2 and a half years, ‘The Cannibal’ made 4 successful title defences, taking on all challenges, breaking records, and constantly giving exciting fights. Alexandre has the most wins, submissions, and finishes in the UFC’s 125lb category.
Last December, he dropped the belt to the 24-year-old Burmese-American ace, Joshua Van. Although Pantoja lost the belt due to an accidental armbreak, he did pass the torch to a very worthy flyweight phenomenon. ‘The Fearless’ has since made two successful title defences, both of which have been blockbuster fights against Japanese contender Tatsuro Taira & the most recent rematch against Alexandre at UFC 331 in LA. This time there was no controversy; it’s just two warriors fighting tooth and nail for 5 rounds, and Van finally earning the respect of the whole world by winning over Pantoja.
We can credit Demetrious Johnson for setting an incredibly high technical standard, Henry Cejudo for keeping the division alive when its future was uncertain, Mick Maynard for helping build a new generation of contenders, Figueiredo and Moreno for giving fans one of the greatest rivalries in UFC history, Pantoja for establishing a thrilling championship run, and Van for carrying the division into its next chapter.
But the fact remains: the UFC flyweight division has come a long, long way. Once in danger of disappearing, 125 pounds is now producing some of the most consistently exciting fights in the sport.
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