The UFC Men's Flyweight Title: A Visual History

Nobody knows whether Deiveson Figueiredo will be the man to break Demetrious Johnson’s incredible record of 11 straight title defenses, but he sure seems to want to find out as quickly as possible.

In the main event of UFC 255 on Saturday, “Deus da Guerra” made short work of short-notice title challenger Alex Perez, dispatching the Californian with a tight guillotine choke in under two minutes. While Figueiredo’s emphatic first defense of the title he won in July was the top story to emerge from UFC 255, it was bumped from that position within hours by the news that he will defend his title again at UFC 256 on Dec. 12, just three weeks later. His opponent will be Brandon Moreno, who had been scheduled to face Perez opponent on Saturday, until Cody Garbrandt’s withdrawal from the card necessitated the shakeup. Moreno, who voiced his belief that he had been just as deserving of the title shot as Perez, and who mauled Brandon Royval on Saturday like a man with something to prove, will now get his wish, and sooner than he could have imagined.

Whoever wins on Dec. 12, the UFC will need to crack open the record books. While Perez would have been the first alumnus of Dana White's Contender Series to win a UFC title if he had pulled off the upset at UFC 255, Moreno will be the promotion’s first Mexican champion if he dethrones Figueiredo in December. If, on the other hand, Figueiredo defeats Moreno, he will absolutely shatter the previous record for the shortest time between UFC title defenses. It’s a brave new world.

Here is the history of the UFC men’s flyweight title and the times it was won, lost or defended. It tells the story of a division moving out from the shadow of an all-time great and into a dynamic new era.

Ben Duffy/Sherdog.com illustration