Heading into 2019, most of us guessed there was a fantastic possibility the UFC flyweight division was on its final legs. However, when Henry Cejudo knocked out TJ Dillashaw in the initial round of the bout at UFC Fight Night 143, we thought there was an opportunity the division could be spared, particularly since the UFC declared a few other fights at 125lbs for different occasions.
It looks like that might not be the case, since the promotion has reportedly released several other flyweights.
According to Cejudo, who talked to the media this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 144, the UFC has released top-ranked flyweights Dustin Ortiz and Matheus Nicolau. In addition, John Moraga was eliminated from the UFC’s official positions, suggesting he too has been released. The UFC hasn’t yet commented if these fighters have really officially been released, but generally it’s around the fighters to inform the media and fans when that occurs. Virtually anytime somebody was eliminated in the positions for unknown reasons, however, it’s generally because the UFC released them.
Even though the UFC flyweight division is obviously on its way out, the choice to cut a quality fighter like Ortiz is utterly shocking, and dare I say, dumb. Ortiz is coming from a competitive unanimous decision loss to Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 143 which was clearly one of the better fights on this card. There’s an opportunity Benavidez understands the next crack at Cejudo’s belt, meaning the UFC just cut Ortiz coming from a title eliminator. And before the Benavidez fight, 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 was spared by the cuts so far — along with a 15-second KO over Hector Sandoval that was the fastest knockout in UFC flyweight history. If anything, the UFC must have advised Ortiz to move around bantamweight, which Alex Perez seemingly is going to do (along with fighters such as Said Nurmagomedov). Releasing such a gifted and fighter like Ortiz outright just seems absurd.
As for Nicolau, he had won three of his fights in the Octagon before dropping to Ortiz, and even though he didn’t appear to be a title contender, he still provided valuable thickness at 125lbs. He additionally holds a notable triumph over Moraga, who it appears has also got the boot. That. Moraga was actually among the first flyweights the UFC signed back in 2012, and although he had an up-and-down UFC profession, he was still considered to be a good gatekeeper and the perfect test for up-and-comers to shoot on. In his last battle, he was knocked out by Deiveson Figueiredo, who seems to be among the couple flyweights the UFC still 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 too harsh to cut a man who had been among those few fighters with completing potential in a branch that generally sees fights go the distance.
At this point, it is very weird that which the UFC is performing together with the flyweights. If you inquire UFC president Dana White, he says that the advertising has not made a decision on the division, but it feels like every day we are seeing a flyweight get cut, and then another day we see a flyweight battle booked. It would be nice if the UFC could make up its mind and cut all the flyweights or keep a complete division, since right now the fighters have no clue what type of job security they have going ahead, and that’s not fair to anyone.
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