Veteran UFC flyweight contender Jose Torres was cut from the UFC and he has recently given an interview to MMAJunkie and that UFC is planning to scrap the 125-pound division very soon. He announced his departure on his Twitter account.
Last month, former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was traded to ONE fighting championship for Ben Askren and there were rumors about UFC scrapping the flyweight division. Even Henry Cejudo said that he was planning to move up soon and with no big name at flyweight, the possibility of UFC cutting the division looks highly likely now.
However, he recently gave an interview to BloodyElbow and said that it’s UFC ‘s failure in making the flyweight division popular.
“None of us did anything wrong,” Torres said. “We’re just small.
“[The division has] always been on UFC Fight Pass, it’s never been the main event for years,” he added. “We’ve had one main event besides the champion, and even then I think [Johnson] was the main event twice, if not three times at most. Even his record-breaking fight was a co-main event. It’s disrespectful to a guy who’s been so dominant.
“He’s just not a talker, and that’s fine — there’s nothing wrong with that. Neither was Fedor Emelianenko, but it’s the fact that the promotions helped promote him — it’s a 50/50 type of business. If you’re not gonna promote him, he’s only gonna be known by so many people. UFC never gave us a chance to really shine.”
Although UFC might cut out the flyweight division and many fighters might have to move up to the bantamweight division, Jose Torres was cut without giving any explanation and he could have even fought at bantamweight and he has indeed fought at the weight class before.
“Half of my pro wins are at bantamweight, so they know I can compete at it,” Torres said. “I’ve competed against some of the best at bantamweight, so I naturally assumed, ‘Hey, just give me a shot.’ Worst comes to worst, I lose — cut me. I’m perfectly fine with that. It shows that I can’t compete in the UFC’s bantamweight division. That’s fine. But they never gave me the opportunity.
“That’s extremely belittling for everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve, and now it’s gone because I’m a small guy.”
He even believes that Dana White is the reason, that flyweight division isn’t popular enough. He has Dana White never gave them a bigger platform and he has never been a fan of the division.
“As of right now, the president, Dana White, is just not a fan — and never, ever has been — of the flyweight division, so why really promote and spend more money on a division you never built in the first place?”
Do you that the Flyweight division isn’t popular because of Dana White?
Also Read-
Mark De La Rosa says flyweights cut from UFC need to ‘stop running their mouths’