The UFC’s women’s divisions aren’t developed enough and do not have the depth of the men’s divisions. The heavyweight division is full of nonathletic, past their prime fighters. Flyweight has been washed out due to a dominant and unpopular champion.
These are the divisions that are often verbally abused for their lack of depth and inactivity. One division that does not receive the flack it very well deserves is one that has seen both a lack of depth and inactivity take its toll in 2015.
The Least Active Division In The UFC
The bantamweight division currently has 55 active fighters. For comparison, the middleweight division and the flyweight division have 60 fighters and 42 fighters respectfully.
This means that out of the 10 divisions in the UFC, the bantamweight division has the 5th most fighters. Their 55 fighters account for 10.1% of the UFC roster. With so many fighters, you would think that the division would be able to average almost a fight for each UFC event. That appears to not be the case in 2015.
In 2015, the bantamweight division has seen a total of 7 fights! That is the least amount of any division in the UFC and only makes up for 3.6% of the fights in 2015. That’s compared to 18 fights in the flyweight division and 26 fights in the middleweight division. Even the women’s bantamweight division, with 26 active fighters, has had more fights (10).
This is very concerning as the bantamweight division has struggled to pull ratings and focus on the division has been fading. There hasn’t been an established champion or a charismatic needle pusher in the division, which are two key components to a successful division. If we take a look at the top of the division, it begins to make sense why the bantamweight division has fallen on hard times.
The Least Active Top 5 of Any Division
One reason for why the bantamweight division hasn’t seen as many fights is that most of their dominant fighters are currently not fighting, either at all or in the division. Dominick Cruz (#2) and Michael McDonald (#5) are both very talented fighters, but both haven’t fought in a while, and have yet to be scheduled for a fight in the up-coming months.
Urijah Faber (#4) had his most recent fight outside of the division when he lost to Frankie Edgar in a featherweight fight. At 36 years old and with teammate TJ Dillashaw as champion, it’s unlikely that Faber will get his 4th crack at a UFC championship or at a top bantamweight contender.
Champion TJ Dillashaw and #1 contender Renan Barao have gone back and forth in pulling out of the much-anticipated rematch, while #3 ranked Raphael Assuncao has sat waiting on the sidelines for his chance at the championship. The rematch will hopefully occur on July 25th at UFC on Fox 16.
Outside of the Top 5, Eddie Wineland (#6) was defeated by previously unranked Johnny Eduardo (#8) on May 10th, 2014. Both fighters have yet to fight since, with Wineland scheduled to fight in July while Eduardo recovers from an injured shoulder.
Meanwhile Takeya Mizugaki is still ranked at #7 in the division despite losing to Aljamian Sterling, who’s now ranked at #9. This means that both the #6 and #7 ranked bantamweights have been defeated by opponents who are still ranked lower than them.
No Active Top Fighters Means No Main Events
The bantamweight division is the only division in 2015 to not have a main event or a co-main event fight occur. The division has also had a hard time even making it onto the main cards of events.
For a division with 10% of the UFC’s roster, to only reach the main card 2.3% of the time is unbelievable. As of now, there are three more bantamweight fights scheduled for a main card slot over the next 10 events. This would mean that out of 27 UFC events in 2015, only five bantamweight fights will make the main card of the event.
There are only a couple of fights in the division that can be made that would make the co-main event or a main event of a card. If the winner of Dillashaw/Barao can defend the title once more this year, than that would bring the total of main/co-main events to two. There aren’t any other fights in the division that would make sense in a co-main event spot, as Faber won’t be put up against a title contender in his next fight while Assuncao will likely wait for the winner of the next title fight.
With more events than ever and with the UFC looking to expand throughout the world, it’s becoming harder for fighters and divisions to step into the spotlight. Right now, the bantamweight division is hidden in the shadows. The division needs its fighters to be more active, and needs a new crop of talent to challenge the division’s best fighters.
