Tonight’s UFC 238 main event will feature Henry Cejudo trying to become a two-division champion when he faces Marlon Moraes for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship. The flyweight division, though, has been speculated to be closing since prior to UFC on ESPN+1 when T.J. Dillashaw attempted to become a double champion in his own right and, in his own words, kill the flyweight division in the process.
Instead, Henry Cejudo earned the TKO victory over Dillashaw and was the self-proclaimed savior of the flyweight division. And yet, the division’s roster has continued to dwindle in the aftermath of Cejudo’s victory to the point where there is currently a grand total of 12 fighters on the UFC flyweight roster. But according to Dana White, the division is sticking around. Because if Henry Cejudo is able to defeat Marlon Moraes and become a two-division champion, White will grant Cejudo the clearance to defend both titles:
“So this guy believes…and I do, too…if he gets past Marlon on Saturday, he believes that he could hold both belts and defend them both at the same time,” White told ESPN Thursday. “I love to give guys the opportunity for greatness: to hold two belts at the same time, which is a very hard thing to do, or to win two belts in two different weight classes. Nobody’s actually stuck around and defended both. I believe that Cejudo could be that guy. And he is a guy that wants to achieve things that nobody’s ever done. That’s the way to do it.”
UFC 238 takes place tonight from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois streaming exclusively on ESPN+.
Do these comments from Dana White convince you that the flyweight division is here to stay?
