The UFC flyweight champion Hery Cejudo is scheduled to face the UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw on the UFC’s first ever Fight Night card on ESPN. The UFC and UFC President Dana White have already seemingly hinted at potentially scraping up the flyweight division. Thus, many fans, pundits and even fighters alike believe that Cejudo’s title fight against Dillashaw will have much higher stakes than the titles themselves, it will also decide the fate of the flyweights. Noted combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani of ESPN too strongly believes that Cejudo will be fighting to save the flyweight division this weekend.
Helwani recently spoke on ESPN’s popular show First Take, he stated that he believes Cejudo vs. Dillashaw is one of the most important fights in the history of the UFC. He also stated that Cejudo is clearly fighting for the life of the flyweight division. Below is a short excerpt from his interview from the show:
I would argue that this is one of the most important fights in UFC history and here’s why, the stakes are unbelievable. The UFC wants to get rid of the flyweight division. They feel like it is just not marketable. They feel that it does not sell enough. So they are actually bringing TJ Dillashaw down from 135 to fight Henry Cejudo for his 125 title to sort of phase this out. I think that is a massive mistake. Do not do that.
So here’s the stakes, I believe, Henry believes, his coaches believe, his manager believe that if he wins on Saturday night, the division survives.
You can watch Helwani stating his opinion on the Cejudo vs. Dillashaw fight below:
Saturday's main event is "one of the most important fights in UFC history."@arielhelwani believes Henry Cejudo is fighting for the fate of the flyweight division at #UFCBrooklyn. (via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/6Jng0ZrRMk
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 17, 2019
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