Best and Worst from UFC on Fox 31: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2

#2 Worst: Font vs. Pettis shows the UFC’s folly when it comes to Flyweight

Rob Font's win over the smaller Sergio Pettis showed why the UFC needs the Flyweight division

The worst-kept secret in MMA recently has been the fact that the UFC are planning to cut the Flyweight division at some point in 2019. Sure, a fight for the 125lbs title between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo is booked for January, but the word is that regardless of the winner, the division will say goodbye soon after, and the fact that so many 125lbers have been cut recently backs that up.

Sergio Pettis – a top-five ranked Flyweight – wasn’t cut, instead moving to 135lbs. Last night he faced Rob Font at his new weight, and essentially, the fight showed the folly of the UFC removing its smallest male division. Font – a solid fighter, but not an elite-level contender – bullied Pettis with his size and took a clear-cut unanimous decision. ‘The Phenom’ couldn’t really do a lot at all in terms of offense.

If Pettis can’t do a lot at 135lbs – a division he’s fought at before – what happens to elite 125lbers like Jussier Formiga who are even smaller? For the UFC to simply cut a division because they don’t deem it popular enough is ludicrous in my book, and considering they’re the biggest promotion in the sport, it’s a sad indictment of where MMA sits on the line of “sport” and “entertainment”. Hopefully, the UFC reconsider, because I think this a big mistake.