Dana White Says Flyweight Division Will be Added to the UFC 'Really Soon'

The UFC was a five division organization for a long time. This past December, they added two new divisions after the UFC/WEC merger. And now, Dana says the long-awaited eighth division is going to happen. And soon. Dana spoke to MMAJunkie at today's UFC 131 press conference and had this to say about a flyweight division in the UFC:

"We have to get out there; we have to create the division. "We bring the guys in, sign them and start putting on fights. You figure out who the best is, and you have a title fight."

In fact, while the executive traditionally shies away from tournaments, he said a grand-prix format could be used to determine the UFC's first-ever flyweight champion.

"Maybe," he said. "There's a lot of options we could do."

He also stated that they're already talking to flyweight fighters about contracts, and this could possibly happen before the end of the year. While the bantamweight division is still working on acquiring a solid footing in the UFC, a few of the division's top contenders would likely make the drop to a new flyweight division. Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson would be the most logical candidates. Right now, Tachi Palace Fights offers up the best 125 pound action in North America, and a UFC flyweight division would definitely hurt them. But the possibility of guys like Henry Cejudo, Ian McCall, Mamoru Yamaguchi and Jussier da Silva in the UFC cage is a very exciting possibility.