UFC president refuses to be drawn on future of flyweight division

UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo was defending more than a title on Saturday night – many felt the future of his entire division was hanging in the balance. However, despite a 32-second victory over reigning bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, company president Dana White has refused to confirm Cejudo will remain at 125 lbs for much longer.

In what turned out to be a hugely successful ESPN+ debut for the UFC, “The Messenger” came out aggressively and dispatched of Dillashaw almost right out of the gate with a head kick and flurry of punches.

Many observers felt that referee Kevin MacDonald should have given the 135-lb champion more of an opportunity to recover, and the nature of the stoppage threatened to overshadow Cejudo’s achievements. White was amongst those critical of the official, describing the stoppage as “horrible” and criticising the New York State Athletic Commission for appointing MacDonald to serve in the UFC Brooklyn’s main event.

White: ‘I don’t know’ what’s next

The outspoken company president, however, remained coy when it came to the issue of a possible rematch and the future of the flyweight division as a whole. “I don’t know what I’m going to do… I didn’t say I’d have an answer on Saturday,” he stressed during the post-fight press conference.

For his part, Cejudo clearly felt that his victory had gravitas, using his in-cage interview to advocate the continuation of the 125-lb weight class, a division the UFC has seemingly been winding down since dominant – but under-drawing – former champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was defeated last year.

Cejudo: Victory ‘much bigger’ than myself

“Uncle Dana, where are you?” the 31-year-old questioned. “This victory – I said it before – it was much bigger than me; this was for the flyweights.”

The flyweights ain’t dying we multiplying. #andstill @arielhelwani pic.twitter.com/aOJmMZjqJA

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) January 20, 2019

For defeated challenger TJ Dillashaw, however, the result was hard to swallow. “As you can tell, I’m a little frustrated,” he admitted during the post-fight presser, while batting away suggestions the two could rematch for Dillashaw’s own 135-lb title. “This shit needs to happen again, at flyweight. This is bullshit. I worked my ass off 12 weeks to get here, to have it stolen from me in 30 seconds.

“I am leaps and bounds better than Henry Cejudo. I greatly believe that. But unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to prove it.”

A rematch seems the next logical step for the UFC, as a move up to bantamweight may allow the promotion to quietly discontinue the flyweight title – as they’ve been seemingly so eager to do over recent months.

Featured image credit: “UFC 189 World Tour Aldo vs. McGregor Lon” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by andriuXphoto.events