LOS ANGELES – Two weeks ago in Calgary, UFC president Dana White alluded to the eventual arrival of a 115-pound weight class in the UFC.
The comment took some fans and analysts by surprise – the UFC added the 125-pound flyweight division only this year, and many people believed there simply might not be enough talent around to fill a 115-pound division.
On Thursday, White expanded on his vision for UFC divisional expansion and thinks the weight class may be just around the corner.
"It'll happen. I don't know (how soon)," White told MMAjunkie.com(UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). "(But) we're going into Asia, Mexico, going into South America – and traditionally, they're all smaller guys."
In February, the UFC returned to Asia for the first time under Zuffa ownership with UFC 144 in Japan. In November, UFC on FUEL TV 6 is set for Macau, which is part of China.
And therein, White believes, may be the next piece of the puzzle for discovering lighter-weight talent. "Our first event in China is going to be in November, and you know how it happens after we put on an event – it explodes and people start training," White said. "India, too. You're going to see talent in those lighter-weight divisions."
White has maintained that the UFC has not considered adding heavier weight classes, such as a cruiserweight division in between light heavyweight and heavyweight.
In early 2009, the now defunct WEC announced the addition of a flyweight class, but never got the division off the ground before merging with the UFC after 2010. In late 2010, White first said the UFC would be adding the 125-pound class, but it took just over a year for the official announcement to be made once all the pieces were in place.
The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial official recognize nine weight classes – eight of which are used in the UFC. Only the super-heavyweight class, which has no upper weight limit, is not a part of the UFC. The Unified Rules do not currently recognize a 115-pound class, which goes by different names depending on promotion, country and gender.
The UFC officially announced the addition of its flyweight division in late 2011. The new weight class started with a four-man tournament this past March, and in September at UFC 152, Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson will fight in the main event to determine the company's first flyweight champion.
The UFC's flyweight roster currently is the smallest in the promotion, though new fighters continue to sign – such as Ulysses Gomez, who opens up UFC on FOX 4 on Saturday – and bantamweights continue to explore their options of dropping down.
When the division was announced, White said he was excited about the potential for bringing talent to the weight class.
"I have a feeling that 125-pound division is going to be as nasty as (155) and (170)," White said. "There's going to be a lot of talent there. At 125 pounds, I think you're going to see a lot of Hispanic and Asian fighters now coming to come compete at that weight."
