A couple weeks back it was announced that the UFC was bringing back flyweight Brandon Moreno to fight Askar Askarov. Askarov has never fought in the Octagon before, and Moreno was cut when it was clear the organization was scrapping the entire division, so why, if the flyweights were no more, would the UFC being doing this?
Ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t think it was possible, but champ Henry Cejudo actually seems to have saved the 125-pounders. He is, quite literally, the division’s savior.
Per multiple sources, the UFC has signed undefeated Russian Askar Askarov (10-0) …… to compete at flyweight. The organization, which currently has 12 flyweights listed on its rankings, has signed another one. Did Henry Cejudo do it? … Did Cejudo really save the flyweights?
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 11, 2019
His efforts deserve some recognition. Sure, his pre-fight theatrics (pulling rubber snakes from hats? What’s that about?) leave a lot to be desired, but the dude murdered TJ Dillashaw when Dillashaw was sent down to assassinate him. And when he faced Marlon Moraes for the suddenly vacant bantamweight belt, he murdered Moraes, too.
Now, with such an exciting, capable-of-finishing fighter at the helm, the UFC has a shot at making the smallest male weight class appealing to fans. And now a bunch of dudes who were or were about to be out of work can still collect paychecks at 125-pounders.
Bow down before King Cejudo. The man did it.