BEST UFC FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME – FLYWEIGHT

The Flyweight division in MMA was one of the latest additions in the MMA world. The UFC’s flyweight division consists of fighters weighing in between 116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg). When the UFC and WEC merged, Dana White indicated that the UFC would likely add a flyweight division in the future. The flyweight division was officially announced in 2011. The inaugural champion was decided by way of a four-man tournament that began with the semifinal round held at the UFC on FOX 2 event in Sydney Australia on March 2, 2012. Joseph Benavidez won his semi-final on FX 2 while Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall fought to a draw. Johnson and McCall rematched on FOX: Johnson vs. McCall on June 8, 2012, with Johnson, advancing. Johnson won the first flyweight championship with his win over Benavidez at UFC 152.

TOP 10 UFC FLYWEIGHTS

10 AKSAR ASKAROV

Askarov made his debut against Brandon Moreno on the main card of Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens. Though Moreno was competing in front of his home fans in Mexico, they fought to a split draw after three rounds. In his last fight, he fought Joseph Benavidez at UFC 259. He won the fight via decision. He is one of the high-level wrestlers to have ever been part of the UFC. He is 14-1 in MMA

9 IAN MCCALL

McCall signed with the UFC in December 2011 to compete in a four-man Flyweight Tournament to determine the inaugural UFC Flyweight Champion. McCall was granted his requested release from the UFC in October 2017.

8 JUSSIER FORMIGA

On July 14, 2012, it was announced that Formiga signed with the UFC. Formiga faced John Dodson on October 5, 2012. On November 16, 2020, it was announced that Formiga had been released from his contract and is now a free agent. He got out of the UFC with a 23-8 record. He had an amazing career in the organization with lots of ups and downs.

7 JOHN DODSON

Dodson made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011, at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale against T.J. Dillashaw to determine the bantamweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 14. Dodson won the fight via TKO in the first round to become the first Bantamweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter competition. In his last fight, Dodson faced Merab Dvalishvili on August 15, 2020, at UFC 252. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On September 18, 2020, it was announced that Dodson was released by Promotion.

6 SERGIO PETTIS

Sergio Pettis was expected to make his promotional debut against Vaughan Lee in a bantamweight bout on November 16, 2013, at UFC 167. A week before the fight Lee was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Will Campuzano. Pettis won the fight via unanimous decision.
Pettis was scheduled to face Kai Kara-France on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245. Later, news surfaced that Pettis fought out his contract with his previous fight with Nam, and is testing free agency.

5 JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. In his UFC debut, Benavidez faced Ian Loveland on March 19, 2011, at 128. He won the fight via unanimous decision. In September 2021, Benavidez announced that he was retiring from MMA.

4 DEIVESON FIGUEIREDO

Figueiredo made his promotional debut on June 3, 2017 at UFC 212, facing Marco Beltran. He won the fight via technical knockout by corner stoppage after round two. He went on the win the flyweight title and defend it twice before losing it to Moreno.

3 BRANDON MORENO

In a rare move, Moreno debuted in the UFC while his season of The Ultimate Fighter was still airing. He faced Louis Smolka at Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson on October 1, 2016. Moreno won the fight via submission in the first round. He is now the current UFC Flyweight champion of the world.

2 HENRY CEJUDO

In his eventual debut, Cejudo faced Dustin Kimura in a bantamweight bout on December 13, 2014, at Fox 13. Cejudo won the fight by unanimous decision. Two years after challenging for the Flyweight title, Cejudo faced Demetrious Johnson in a rematch for the Flyweight Championship title in the co-main event at UFC 227 on August 4, 2018. Cejudo went on to win the back-and-forth fight via split decision to become the UFC’s second Flyweight champion and first Olympic gold medalist to capture gold. He also went on to become the bantamweight champion.

1 DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Johnson faced Japanese superstar Norifumi Yamamoto on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126 in his debut, Johnson won via unanimous decision.
Johnson faced Joseph Benavidez in the finals of the Flyweight Tournament on September 22, 2012, at 152. Johnson defeated Benavidez via split decision (48–47, 47–48, and 49–46) to become the inaugural Flyweight Champion. On October 27, 2018, Johnson was traded to ONE Championship for former ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.