Flyweight: Future and Free Agents
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 2:23 AM EST
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PrintThe semi-finals of a four man tournament to determine the inaugural UFC flyweight champion will take place on UFC on FX 2: The Electric Boogaloo. Like the sequel to Breakin, it will probably feature lots of fast movement and an appearance by Ice-T.
Top ten bantamweight Demetrius "Mighty Mouse" Johnson will face former Tachi Palace flyweight champion Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall. On the other side of the bracket is former Shooto Bantamweight champion Yasuhiro Urushitani going up against top three bantamweight Joseph "Joe B-Wan Kenobi" Benavidez.
I fully expect to see Mighty Mouse and Benavidez to advance and compete for the title (although all these fights should be competitive), and would favor Benavidez to be the first UFC flyweight champion. After that though, what's next? Personally I wouldn't be surprised to see if the losers on both sides of the brackets face off for the first crack at the belt. This still leaves a question as to who is going to fill out this division. I am sure John Dodson and Louis Gaudinot are going to drop down. So right now we have about seven fighters under Zuffa off the top of my head that can make up the UFC flyweight division (I believe John Lineker has also signed with the UFC). Fortunately for Zuffa, there are quite a bit of quality flyweights outside the UFC that can fill out this division. These are just some guys off the top of my head that come to mind.
Jussier Da Silva
Da Silva was the former number one flyweight in the world until he was defeated by Ian McCall in a fight were Ian McCall punched himself in the face. His nickname Formiga, which is Portuguese for ant. It makes perfect sense, because this little fucker gets on your back like an insect and doesn't come off until fifteen minutes minutes are up or he taps you out (unless you're a man with a vaudeville mustache who punches himself in the face of course). If he's brought in he is an immediate contender at 125 pounds. Personally, he might not be the most exciting fighter but his technical grappling ability certainly has fine moments and can give a lot of fighters fits.
Just look at that afro. Outside of being a good striker, he is known as being one of the more unfadable Asian fighters. He is the funkiest flyweight fighter eating all ya'll jive turkeys for breakfast. Unfortunately Mamoru is in his mid thirties and doesn't really have long to compete as a top fighter in his division (and I think he has looked a little slower as of late). Fortunately his technical kickboxing and counter punching style is quite enjoyable to watch, and he can be a very good fighter who can put up some entertaining fights if matched up properly. Like most Asian fighters he could definitely improve by going to train at a top camp like AKA, Jackson's, ATT, Tristar, or Xtreme Couture (or other smaller but excellent training camps), but ultimately I doubt most Japanese talent will realize the benefits of training with their American counterparts. Still, I think he is a UFC level talent in this new division.
He is coming off a loss to Ian McCall, but I still think that Montague has a lot of potential and would be a good addition to the UFC roster. He is pretty young and made some tactical mistakes in his fight against McCall (most notably dropping down for an ill advised guillotine), which might improve as he gets more experienced. He did take a fair amount of punishment from Uncle Creepy during the second round of their fight and was still aggressive in the stand up before he got taken down an submitted in the third.
Although Gomez has bounced around between flyweight and bantamweight, I see his future being in the flyweight division. He is a good grappler and I think he has some potential, but ultimately I don't know if he is ever an level fighter. I look at his overall game and think that with enough improvement, he can be a top ranked flyweight. That's not really based on anything I've seen, only my gut (which has only gotten smaller as I've continued to lose weight for what that's worth).
Other guys
Charlie Valencia- Every division needs gatekeepers, and Valencia has certainly been in the cage with some really accomplished talent. Also only one of two men to ever defeat Ian McCall.
Will Campuzano- Another former Zuffa employee. He was supposed to fight Ian McCall for the Tachi Palace title until injuries scrapped the matchup. Fairly unsuccessful at bantamweight, but someone I wouldn't be shocked to come in at 125 and get another shot in the UFC.
Dustin Ortiz- Recently came back from his only loss (to McCall) with a third round stoppage of Josh Rave. He might be a guy Zuffa has on their radar.
Shinichi Kojima- Don't know much about this guy. Maybe he's related to the guy who invented Metal Gear? Kidding aside, taking two years off is never a good sign, even if he has won twice since his return.
Phil Harris- A British fighter, so he might get into the UFC on that alone. He also fought Jose Aldo, but quite honestly I'm having a bunch of trouble getting any kind of footage on this guy. He has nine losses, but that might be attributed to the fights he has taken above his weight.
Just something I'm going to throw out. I'm not anyone's nutritionist, but there are a couple of guys think can make flyweight. Kid Yamamoto is someone who comes to mind immediately (if he still even has a job with the UFC) presuming what I've read of him walking around at 143 pounds is true. Also a guy like Joe Warren who could potentially be out of a job by the end of next year could probably make the cut as well.
Next year the UFC is going to crown a new flyweight king, and the UFC Flyweight championship in some ways can be called the lineal successor to both the Tachi Palace Flyweight championship and the Shooto World Bantamweight champions. The winner of this tournament will have the right to be called the greatest flyweight on earth, and if any of these guys want to be known as the Flyweight King, there will only be one place to prove. The Octagon.
*All photos coutesy of Sherdog.com
**Come on! Look at that afro. If that thing ain't swag, nothing else is. Not even Based God.
*** I have an obessive compulsion to group stuff into threes, so this third bullet is completely meaningless. Now go, read some of the great content on this site and stop wasting it on reading my dreadful fanposts
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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really hope Zuffa picks him up.
read an article on Formiga about his struggles in Brasil. how his dad died and how he has to work to make ends meet and have fund raisers to defend his belt overseas. all that while he was #1 in the world and no sponsors.
by PeopleWatching on Dec 23, 2011 8:09 AM EST up reply actions
Formiga has looked beastly since his lost to McCall. His back control is insane: like half the Yamaguchi fight consisted of Formiga with back control and he’s RNC’d his past two opponents. This guy will only get better once he is making better money in the UFC; I read that he hasn’t been able to afford as much striking training lately so he has been working on putting on muscle to compensate.
UFC must sign Mamoru Yamaguchi; it disappoints me that they didn’t get him involved in the tournament. The UFC so could have pulled off a great 8-man GP.
I bet Montague will get picked up soon. Maybe they are waiting for him to pick up another win or something, but I think he has more potential than Dustin Ortiz (which is not to say that Ortiz shouldn’t be brought to the UFC, the guy’s scrappy and tough).
I’m a big fan of Ulysses. I dislike when he fights at BW because he always gets outmuscled and beat on for a round or two before getting his shit together and finding a submission. He’s talent, but needs to shore up that striking.
Sinichi Kojima was number before losing to Formiga. He, without a doubt, needs to be included in the FW division.
I haven’t watched any tape on Phil Harris, but he and Josh Rave would be good additions because they would make decent gatekeepers, which the UFC will need. Both of them accumulated more losses than they probably should have being tough and fighting bigger guys so I think it’s kind of fitting to let them test themselves in the UFC at their natural weight.
Formiga is a beast, and he has looked like he has had a bit more finishing instinct lately. That is what might have cost him against McCall. Maybe if he was more aggressive he wouldn’t have given McCall the chance to comeback.
Kojima is definitely talented, but MMA changes so quickly I always have to question a guy with that long a layoff.
The thing about Phil Harris is that I’ve been unable to find any real footage on him. In this day and age if you’re a fighter you can benefit greatly from having a strong online presence. He also has had trouble fighting consistently. He only fought once in 2008 and twice in 2011.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:24 AM EST up reply actions
Another thing to consider is Strawweights that might want to move up to fight in the UFC. I remember hearing something about Lorenzo being impressed by Ramba Somdet. M16 is a guy I would love to see in the UFC. Also Roy Docyogen might do alright at 125 and it would make Anton happy.
Does anyone know the deal with Pat Runez? I remember back when he fought John Dodson, Sherdog called that fight the biggest flyweight fight in North American history.
It’s really too bad that Bellator has Alexis Villa. He’s the guy I really think could have stormed a 125 tourney.
I am really excited for the flyweight division, and I think it might be kind of stacked once the BWs start dropping down. I heard KOTC champ Jared Papazanian might be trying a test cut to 125. He could be a force there considering his recent success at BW.
And then there are all the prospects that now have the possibility of fighting in the UFC, such as Sam Thao (6-1), Daniel Otero (6-1), Fumihiro Kitahara (10-2), Jessie Riggleman (11-2), Moab Florencio (7-1), Jose Maria Tome (28-3), Yamato Okada (8-0), John Moraga (8-1), Dil Lopez (8-0), Frank Baca (12-1), Shawn Ramage (10-1-1)…
It’s gonna be a great divison that’s gonna make 2012 an epic year for MMA
Wow, totally forgot about Pat Runez
I wonder what ever happened to him as well. He hasn’t fought in two years, so I wonder if he retired or is dealing with injuries.
Personally, I would tell Sombet to move up. Despite being small he can probably beat some quality guys at flyweight. Sombet isn’t a two dimensional mixed martial artist that is helpless on his back, and if matched up right he can probably be a pretty exciting fighter.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:37 AM EST up reply actions
I almost forgot about Runez too, because it’s been like two years since I have heard anything about him. But some needs to phone his ass and get him in the gym so he can take some fights and land himself a UFC contract.
Due to these flyweights consistently moving up in weight, there is a dearth of undefeated ones.
Another guy I think UFC should grab: Brandon Markt (11-0).
Roy Docyogen is 9-0 and warrants at least a mention, although he has been competing at 119 lbs.
Andrew Leone is an outstanding prospect, he’s only 2-1 right now but that’s because he has been working pretty much full time on his BJJ. By the end of 2012 people will be talking about him as a UFC prospect.
Shinichi Kojima
“Taking two years off is never a good sign.”
Wasn’t really his choice, dude had serious problems with his right knee (ACL tear, I think). At least he has beaten top Flyweights upon his return in Kiyotaka Shimizu (top-ten) and Masaaki Sugawara (top-fifteen/twenty). Shows he’s still got a lot left in the tank.
Lil B is probably the greatest troll in rap history. I can’t say anything bad about him.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:13 AM EST up reply actions
I'll feel a lot of promise for this division if Uncle Creepy and Urushitani can make things interesting in their fights
If they get flattened, I’ll expect to see a whole lot of Mighty Mouse vs Benavidez in the first 18 months of title fights in the division.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
PS;
If you gave a shit, you could trace back my “Joe vs Demetrious for the flyweight title” posts to like 18 months ago.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
Post the link in the comments, I’d love to read it and link both articles up.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
It was comments
More difficult to chase down, but they’re in there somewhere. Just felt this was inevitable, given their size and talents.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 12:22 PM EST up reply actions
I think Joe B might be a dominant champion. He is the best bantamweight in the world not named Dominick Cruz or Urijah Faber, so I think he should be the best flyweight.
The only problem I see is that Benavidez is extremely good at fighting taller fighters, so might need to make adjustments when dealing with guys his own size.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:42 AM EST up reply actions
i think benavidez should absolutely rape and pillage this divison
so knowing this sport uncle creepy’s prob gonna knock him out
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva
Haha
I hope Ian can at least have a good showing, and I’d be thrilled to see him win. Love all four guys in this tourney.. Mighty Mouse might be my least favorite, actually, since I was pissed about the decision he got over Torres.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
same
theres no way torres should have lost that fight, what pissed me off the most was that i thought torres could have offered significantly more to challenge cruz then mighty mouse could
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva
It's well documented that I thought Torres was the biggest threat to Cruz's title
Still hoping there’s some way he makes amends and gets to come back after a probationary period.. Maybe he takes a single fight on the road and comes home.
And yeah— fighters winning by gravity is the dumbest fucking thing around.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
agreed
to me full guard is the same as a clinch, only horizontal…it’s not the fact that you are on top that equals a win, it’s what you do with that top position. Yes it’s advantageous & the top man may have taken the fight to that position, but the bottom fighter has just as much opportunity to finish a fight as the guy on top (e.g. Brandao vs Bermudez). In regards to the clinch, the fighter with his back against the cage has just an equal chance to land a fight ending maneuver as the guy pressing him there.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
DUDE
Head to MMA Playground and accept your invite and head to the new BECW final registration post if you still want into the Civil War.
(sorry about going off-topic!)
by wonderfulspam on Dec 23, 2011 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
Henry Cejudo
He’s not fully into MMA yet, but he’s a freaking wrestling beast…what Alexis Vila once was, Cejudo is now- and only 25
2008 – Olympic Freestyle Gold, he’ll probably turn to MMA after 2012 Olympics.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
Yeah, he's still a ways off from fighting
But he’ll be a killer when and if he does.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 12:22 PM EST up reply actions
Luke had a great interview in the link, especially revealing Cejudo’s thoughts on how MMA will be attracting international wrestlers as MMA goes mainstream. There are some really fantastic wrestlers on the international level at the lower weight classes and now that the UFC is finally focusing on those weights & paying good money, I imagine we’ll see a lot national-level wrestlers crossover when they can’t make the top 3 in their country.
Boxing, kickboxing, & muay Thai have a professional systems already in place where fighters can make a living, so they’re not as enticed as wrestlers. Also MMA is geared toward that strong wrestling base, making it a perfect format for lighter weights to transition into professional and financial success.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
Yeah, I read that interview when it was posted
Hopefully he takes it seriously and provides a major challenge to whoever is the king of flyweight at that time.
Mike Massenzio's left MCL, ACL and PCL
11/01/1982-01/14/2012
by Charles Awad on Dec 23, 2011 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
I really don’t care about Cejudo until I hear about him training with a high level camp and working toward his debut. There are a bunch of guys who flirt with it and ultimately never do it, and we don’t even know if he’ll be any good.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
read the interview:
Henry: Yeah, absolutely. I was actually training at ATT for a while. I was actually living in Miami for a good solid month and a half and I was actually thinking about fighting.
trust me- he’ll do very, VERY well
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
ATT for a while. I assume he is no longer training there then.
Just because you’re a great wrestler doesn’t mean you’ll be a great MMA wrestler. GSP can out wrestle anyone in the welterweight division, Jake Rosholt has had issues in his career, Jones is a dominant champion who isn’t a D-1 wrestler, Dan Henderson has poor take down defense, ect.
Simply put there are to many factors to whether he is going to a be a high level mixed martial artist. How does he respond to getting punched? Will he be able to defend against submissions? There are so many different factors we can’t just assume he is going to be a future champion.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 5:34 PM EST up reply actions
you discount him far too easily
by comparing an gold medalist to Rosholt.
He’s so far ahead of the game in terms of training regimen, performing on a big stage, the know how concerning weight cutting & muscle building…not to mention once in a lifetime athleticism, that he’s almost a lock to be successful (barring catastrophe obviously). The dude went straight from high school to the international elite.
He was also an amateur boxer in Arizona. Another positive sign is that he has the connections of people like Gray Maynard, Cain Velasquez, Mo Lawal, and Ben Askren…those are guys that know the transition from wrestling to MMA. The only reason he didn’t start earlier is that the UFC didn’t have the flyweight class.
When we talk about a solid base in wrestling bringing MMA success, we point to guys like Munoz – Sonnen – Velasquez – Lawal – Fitch – Koscheck – Phil Davis: even though they had successful college careers, none of those guys are even close to being on the level of international wrestling that Cejudo or Cormier are on. Think in terms of a college QB from a mid-major vs. NFL QB. Sure he’ll need to improve BJJ and striking but the guy will come into MMA at 26 being a possible 2 time Olympic Gold medal wrestler so he’ll have time to learn, have a long career, and plenty of people that want to train & learn from him.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
by tigerlee on Dec 23, 2011 7:12 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Credentials ultimately don’t mean much. The best wrestler in mixed martial arts is GSP (who has no credentials to speak of) while guys like Rosholt and Munoz often struggle to utilize their wrestling. Rampage was never a really high level wrestler, but his defense wrestling is extremely good. Likewise Rashad put on a wrestling clinic on Rampage for two rounds even though he was not a high level collegiate wrestler (even though he did beat Greg Jones). I could keep going forever.
Can he be a great fighter? Sure, but I’m not going to assume he is until he focuses exclusively on MMA.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 8:19 PM EST up reply actions
When someone says Olympic Gold Medalist, that means a lot. Just because there aren’t many MMA champions that have a credential like “Freestyle Olympic wrestling Champion”, doesn’t mean that they can’t hang. It means there aren’t a lot of Olympic champions competing in MMA.
As top level wrestlers begin to finally see MMA as a financial step up, more of them will transition. We’re about to see an influx of the world’s best athletes into MMA as it starts to go mainstream. I guarantee you that we’ll see an evolution of the sport once truly top level athletes (not just grapplers and strikers) transition into MMA.
MMA has never paid well, so it hasn’t attracted the best physical specimens in the world because you can’t make money in MMA like you can in boxing, football, basketball, or soccer. But the UFC & sponsors are finally starting to pay well enough to attract high level Judoka and Wrestlers. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t well-rounded, they’ve proven they can learn quickly and commit to the lifestyle of a full-time athlete. Once they transition into MMA, the difference between them and the athletes of today will be similar to the difference between Brock Lesnar and Harold Howard. You may think I’m joking, but if future champions are making even close to a million a fight (and its very possible if Michael Bisping just made 400k+) it will attract a better caliber athlete.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
That idea is only relevant at the higher weight classes. The best athletes in the world south of 155 are already doing combat sports (whether it is boxing or mixed martial arts).
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 10:41 PM EST up reply actions
you lost me there
are we talking about the future of MMA, boxing, or combat sports in general? I thought it was MMA, but Manny Pacquiao (one of the best combat athletes in the world) isn’t in MMA…which was my point, the money isn’t there yet.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
Well, this can lead into a whole other discussion but...
You said that most world class athletes are going to transition to MMA over time. I said that all the great smaller athletes are already either in this sport or in boxing. A lot of those smaller fighters will never do MMA anyway. For example I seriously doubt a country like Mexico that produces a large majority of fighters in those weight classes is ever really going to embrace MMA. That aside, I believe that an overwhelming majority of average to small athletes who are not already doing boxing are doing mixed martial arts. Look at guys in the lightweight to bantamweight divisions.
Of the four sports you mentioned, the only competition MMA has for high level athletes is boxing. Demetrius Johnson is never going to play in the NBA, NFL, or MLS. Hence going back to my point, Henry Cejudo’s athletic gifts might be overstated because these weight classes are already packed with some of the best athletes in the world.
by discoandherpes on Dec 23, 2011 11:22 PM EST up reply actions
Let's put this all into perspective
MMA has only been around for 20+/- years (as we know it). Many point to the “Modern Era” of MMA beginning in 2001 when the sport finally achieved enough recognition to garner official rules & sanctioning. Until 2011, the top promotion for MMA in the world, the UFC didn’t have any classes under 155 so athletes of the highest caliber were not looking to MMA as a way to succeed financially. They’ve been paid pennies compared to other professional athletes.
No sport has produced their best talent in the first 10 years of it’s existence. We’re still in the infant stages. We still see pioneers of the sport like Dan Severn fighting, and he started in his 30’s when his best (Olympic) years were already behind him.
We haven’t even seen the first athlete to train exclusively, from a young age, for this type of sport (Jordan Mein is the only person that I can think of that even comes close). If you look at world class athletes in wrestling, muay thai, and boxing, these guys started when they were 6-10 years old…that is a lifestyle of sport. Kids will now start seeing MMA on Fox and tell their parents ‘I want to be an MMA fighter when I grow up.’ We haven’t seen that generation yet.
I don’t want to sound like I’m down-playing the talents of MMA fighters of today, they are absolutely amazing. But they are honestly still pioneers at this point. Would you put money on Jesse Owens (one of the greatest sprinters & athletes of his time in 1936) up against Usain Bolt? Or for that matter the winner of the 1896 Olympic 100m up against Jesse Owens?
We live in a wonderful time where we can actually see the evolution of a sport right in front of our eyes, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it…but I know there’s better talent to come in the next 10 years.
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
No holds barred, no time for move fakin,
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon - Charlie Brown
This is totally true
Look at the top fighters from 10 years ago. Take them in their prime against the top fighters of right now? Any winners? Henry Cejudo is going to be an absolute beast after 2012. I really wish Jordan Burroughs would come to MMA sooner than 2017 but he wants to break John Smith’s record so more power to him.
I enjoy MMA, but I am no Michael Bisping
by Andy Anderson on Dec 24, 2011 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
Once again, that is all relevant at higher weight classes.
by discoandherpes on Dec 24, 2011 9:23 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not disagreeing with you. I think you’re spot on and we’re only going to see the level of athletes increase in all sports, not just MMA. Technology and sports medicine is only going to go forward.
by discoandherpes on Dec 24, 2011 9:30 PM EST up reply actions
Disco...
i thought that DJ and Uncle Creepy were fighting in the brackets.
"There are no atheists in foxholes" isn't an argument against atheism, it's an argument against foxholes. ~James Morrow
"There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot."-Steven Wright
Wow. I totally fucked that up. Thanks.
by discoandherpes on Dec 24, 2011 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
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