There’s now a plan to fill the vacant UFC bantamweight belt – and keep the flyweight division chugging, too.
UFC President Dana White is targeting a fight between UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and No. 1 contender Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight title, with Jussier Formiga and Joseph Benavidez serving as backup in case either bantamweight falls out.
White, who sketched out the idea during the post-fight show for UFC on ESPN+ 6, didn’t mention a timeline for the proposed fights.
“They both want that fight really bad,” White said of Cejudo (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Moraes (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who’ve been jawing on Twitter since T.J. Dillashaw vacated the belt earlier this week. “It seems like a good fight to make with the whole Dillashaw thing now, and then you do (Formiga) versus Benavidez on the same card – anything goes wrong, one of them can step up and take the fight, and then the winner of that fight is the guaranteed No. 1 contender for the next (flyweight) shot.”
Moraes has emerged as the expected challenger for the bantamweight title with a knockout of perennial contender Raphael Assuncao. Cejudo was expected to get the first crack, however, after a flyweight title fight against Dillashaw ended in a controversial first-round stoppage.
But after Dillashaw failed a post-fight drug test, the 135-pound division was thrown into limbo. That left Cejudo and Moraes, who share a manager, jawing at each other.
Meanwhile, the flyweight division’s future has been in question with Cejudo pursuing a bantamweight title shot. But the division’s two top contenders will apparently get their due – unless they’re called to gain 10 pounds at the last second.
It’s the second time within one year that Benavidez (26-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) has served as a backup fighter for a title fight, though in his own division. He was on standby in case Dillashaw or Cejudo were unable to make their flyweight title fight at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January. But instead, he wound up rematching Dustin Ortiz and winning a dominant decision to keep his place in the flyweight title order.
Formiga (23-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), meanwhile, solidified his contender status Saturday with a tactical win over slugger Deiveson Figueiredo (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Afterward, he called out Cejudo in an impassioned plea for a golden opportunity.
The title shot may not come the way Formiga or Benavidez expected. But at least there’s a plan in place.
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