It was 2018 when news about the UFC’s supposed plan to shut down the men’s flyweight division began to surface. The narrative, at the time, was because 125-pounders weren’t that much of a draw, with the company releasing Jose “Shorty” Torres with two fights remaining in his contract.
That piece of information was squashed a year later by UFC president Dana White himself after Henry Cejudo’s UFC 238 win over Marlon Moraes. But according to former longtime champion Demetrious Johnson, the company was serious about these plans.
In his recent appearance on the MMA Hour, he said it all began when he wanted a super fight with T.