The UFC's 125 pound division was saved from slaughter, but it nevertheless would be accurate to consider it bleeding; Henry Cejudo proved in 2019 that the flyweights are not lacking in skill (even compared to one of the most robust divisions in MMA), but the purged top-tier talent hasn't been picked back up by the promotion. It's very much Schrodinger's weight-class; sometimes the box is opened with a terrific fight, of a sort that other divisions can't hope to replicate, but the future of the weight (not just in existence, but in quality) is very much in question otherwise. Even fairly recently, there weren't enough fighters to have a full top-15; one would be forgiven for believing 125 to still be on the chopping block, even as it's slowly building back up.

Generally, divisions that way become strictly tiered; truly good fighters are in short supply, so they shoot to the top and stay there, and the only compelling fights are among themselves. In fact, heavyweight and light-heavyweight have existed in this state for years (if not their entire existence). It's a testament to flyweight talent that the top-echelon of the gutted 125 is still made of genuinely phenomenal fighters, as skilled and as rounded as the top of any division. Two of those three will fight for the vacant championship in Norfolk, to fill the void left by now-bantamweight Henry Cejudo. Whether Cejudo completed his stated vision for 125 is in question; regardless, it's up to Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo to continue the work, in one of the most crucial title fights in recent memory. If Benavidez can get it done, the weight-class might still be the most overlooked, but a genuine all-time great gets the due he deserves; if the younger lion rules, the most vicious captain ascends to the helm of the division that needs it most.

Joe-B

If life were fair, Joseph Benavidez would hold a belt going into Virginia. His last fight proved it, as it was functionally a championship bout; Benavidez and his opponent had collectively collected wins over everyone relevant in the division at the time, and their fight was officially an eliminator between two fighters who richly deserved shots at Cejudo before it even happened. Benavidez came out on top, and gets the title shot that had been out of his reach for as long as Demetrious Johnson reigned. Instead of moving back down to 125 to avenge his previous loss to Benavidez, Cejudo has simply vacated the belt; now the most consistently elite contender at flyweight (arguably in all of MMA) has an entirely new mountain to climb, in his bid to stop being the greatest man never to win the belt.

Benavidez is an odd sort of striker, the kind who benefits a lot more from intelligence and craft than from classically-tight mechanics; he doesn’t strike the way a conventional boxer or kickboxer does, but he’s created a system that allows him to play a variety of games against different opponents. The tools he uses largely stay consistent, especially 13 years into an accomplished career, but the way he uses those blitzes differs wildly; Benavidez’s consistency in fighting the right fight (if not immediately, after a round or two) can be considered the biggest key to his success at the top of 125. The best example of this was his rematch against Jussier Formiga, which was likely his biggest win; Formiga was on a winstreak of four that probably should’ve been six, with his win prior being a crafty coup to take the 0 of a spectacularly scary individual, and Benavidez had him figured out from the opening bell.