By Tyler Mason, Sportsnet
Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall entered their bout Friday night in Australia with the assumption that when they left one would be the victor. Stipulations were in place for the UFC’s flyweight tournament to assure this was the case. An extra round would take place if there were a draw, so the tournament could continue without interruption.
As everyone soon found out “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” For “Mighty Mouse” and “Uncle Creepy” this was now a reality. Three great rounds in and they were robbed of a fourth.
Meanwhile, Joseph Benavidez showed why anyone not named Dominick Cruz should be worried to step into the cage with him. Benavidez dispatched Yasuhiro Urushitani only 11 seconds into the second round. Benavidez made it clear at the post-fight press conference that he will wait for the winner of a McCall and Johnson rematch, which means we’ll be waiting a while to see the first 125-pound champion crowned.
In combat sports the lower divisions rarely get the attention and fan fervour they deserve. Now that the flyweight tournament final has been postponed, fan interest in the division could wane even further.
And what about the other lighter weight divisions? Cruz and Urijah Faber are opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter poised for a third showdown. I’ve never liked it when champions coach on TUF. It ties up the title for an unnecessary amount of time, rather than have it defended every three or four months. Hopefully with the change to this year’s format, which includes live fights on Fridays, that won’t be the case.
The featherweight division has a completely different problem, a dominant champion with no clear No. 1 contender. Jose Aldo sits atop all other 145-pound fighters without a clear challenger. Outside of Hatsu Hioki everyone in the top 10 is either employed by a different promotion, been defeated by Aldo, is injured or has a fight lined up.
I can’t see casual fans lining up to see Aldo fight the relatively unknown Hioki. Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar dropping down to challenge Aldo seems like the best idea; but Edgar seems vehemently opposed to the idea.
Speaking of the lightweight division, it seems to be the only one out of the four with a healthy amount of contenders. However, the PPV numbers under Edgar’s reign were anything but healthy, even though Edgar put on two of the best fights of last year with Gray Maynard. A second title fight with Aldo and Kenny Florian bolstered their UFC 136 trilogy bout, but estimates put PPV buy rates somewhere around 250,000.
With Benson Henderson as champion and a plethora of worthy contenders, hopefully the division can see a turnaround. UFC 144’s slight upkick of buy rates, estimated at 375,000, shows us that there could be one.
The flyweight tournament was and is a great idea, but it showed more than just the commission’s lack of math and reading skills. The lighter weight divisions supply us with some of the fastest paced, technical and exciting fights in MMA, but fans haven’t bought in yet. There is still that large demographic of MMA fans who want to see glorified toughman competitions, where two brawlers throw nonstop punches at each other until one of them falls down.
Postponing the final may have been a speed bump for the flyweight division, but there is a still a long way to go to get the results the smaller divisions deserve.
