1: Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson: Perhaps the fastest man of any division, Johnson captured the flyweight title after five hard rounds against Joseph Benavidez and walking away with a split decision win. He followed that up in January when he earned a unanimous decision win over TUF 14 winner, John Dodson on the UFC on FOX 6 card in Chicago, Illinois.
2: Joesph ‘Beefcake’ Benavidez: One judge gave it to him, two didn’t. That’s how close Joseph Benavidez was from becoming the first ever UFC flyweight champion in 2012. The loss to Demetrious Johnson via split decision has done nothing to quell the Team Alpha Male” fighter’s thirst for success however as he bounced back with a unanimous decision win over formerly ranked number one fighter at 125 pounds, Ian McCall and has since added a second round TKO win over Darren Uyenoyama.
3: John ‘The Magician Dodson: The winner of TUF 14 at bantamweight and a rare fighter at flyweight how has serious knockout power. Dodson earned a shot at the 125 pound title with an impressive second round TKO win over Jussier Formiga in October 2012. The title shot however didn’t go to plan, getting out hustled by champion, Demetrious Johnson.
4: Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall: His UFC career couldn’t have started worse. One draw and two defeats, as well as a term behind bars doesn’t exactly scream “Uncle Creepy” to be one of the best at 125 pounds. That said the three fights did come against the number one and two in the world right now, Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez. One more defeat however could spell unemployment.
5: John Moraga: There’s always someone that comes from nowhere and secures a title shot in a new division and that’s exactly the case when it comes to Moraga. Riding a seven fight winning streak, five on the local circuit and two inside the octagon, Moraga defeated the highly touted Chris Cariaso last time out to earn a shot at the belt.
6: Jussier ‘Formiga’ da Silva: Brazil’s best 125lb’er, Shooto South American champion da Silva took an undefeated record into his Tachi Palace Fights bout with Ian McCall last year. After a huge upset loss to McCall, ‘Formiga’ got back on track with a win over Mamoru Yamaguchi, before heading back to Brazil to defend his Shooto title. The Brazilian was last seen in action in October when he was defeated by John Dodson via second round TKO.
7: Chris ‘Kamikaze’ Cariaso: A hard worker at 135 pounds, Cariaso has found success in the flyweight division. He was on a three-fight winning streak after defeating Vaughan Lee and Takeya Mizugaki at bantamweight before dropping down to beat Josh Ferguson on his flyweight debut. That all came to an end however when John Moraga earned a third round submission win last time out.
8: Louis Gaudinot: Known for having crazy hair on a recent series of TUF, Gaudinot has proved to be a heavy hitter at flyweight after dropping down from 135 pounds. A former Rig of Combat 125 pound champion, Gaudinot not only earned a second round win in his flyweight debut with the UFC but a “Fight of the Night” bonus award as well.
9: Darrell Montague: Few make the ranks that are outside the UFC for obvious reasons but Montague is well worth his spot and is no doubt on the radar of talent relations over at Zuffa headquarters. Montague has won nine of his last ten professional fights and is on a three-fight winning streak right now. The former Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion only loss during that period was to highly ranked Ian McCall.
10: Darren Uyenoyama: Perhaps my favourite fighter at flyweight due to his fighting style, Uyenoyama is proving to be a handful for his opponents as he puts together a three-fight winning streak including a second round submission win over Phil Harris on his 125 pound debut. He also holds a notable win over Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto from his 135 pound days. A defeat last time out to number two ranked Joseph Benavidez has him teetering on the edge of the top ten.
(Updated May 1st, 2013)
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