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Flyweight
1. Joseph Benavidez (28-6)
Benavidez suffered perhaps the most painful defeat of his career to date at UFC Fight Night 169, as he fell to Deiveson Figueiredo via technical knockout 1:54 into the second stanza of the evening’s headliner at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. Due to Figueiredo missing weight, only Benavidez was eligible to win the flyweight championship, but the former Team Alpha Male product instead was unsuccessful for the third time in a title bout in UFC competition. While an accidental headbutt appeared to knock Benavidez off kilter, he also struggled with the superior size and power of his Brazilian opponent throughout the contest. Whether he gets another shot at 125-pound gold remains to be seen, as the entire future of the division could be uncertain.2. Jussier da Silva (23-6)
By losing to Joseph Benavidez for a second time, “Formiga” may have seen his last best chance at flyweight title contention slip through his fingers. The 34-year-old Brazilian’s second-round TKO defeat to Benavidez at UFC Minneapolis snapped a four-bout winning streak for da Silva. He’ll look to start a new streak against Brandon Moreno at UFC Brasilia on March 14.3. Sergio Pettis (19-5)
Back at 135 pounds, Pettis made a statement in his Bellator debut. The Roufusport representative rocked Alfred Khashakyan with a right hook and follow-up punches before locking in a guillotine choke at the 3:07 mark of Round 1 at Bellator 238. Pettis’ eligibility at 125 pounds won’t expire until September, as he bested Tyson Nam in a flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 159. However, with no flyweight division in Bellator, it’s likely that Pettis stays put at bantamweight for the foreseeable future.4. Deiveson Figueiredo (18-1)
Figueiredo has to be kicking himself after an impressive performance against Joseph Benavidez in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner. The 32-year-old Brazilian floored Benavidez with a powerful right hand and ended the contest with a few follow-up hammerfists at the 1:54 mark of Round 2 of their bout in Norfolk, Va., but the flyweight title will remain vacant due to Figueiredo missing weight. It’s hard to imagine Figueiredo not receiving another shot at 125-pound gold, especially considering he had successfully hit his contracted mark for his previous seven Octagon appearances.5. Alexandre Pantoja (22-4)
Pantoja displayed some impressive power at UFC Fight Night 165, finishing “The Ultimate Fighter 24” cast mate Matt Schnell via knockout in the opening frame of their clash in Busan, South Korea. The Brazilian, who has won six of his eight Octagon appearances, is tied for fourth in UFC flyweight history with four finishes. The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champ also owns notable wins over the likes of Wilson Reis and Brandon Morena within the Las Vegas-based promotion and figures to be a talent to watch in the coming year.6. Rogerio Bontorin (16-2)
Bontorin tasted defeat for just the second time in his professional career at UFC Fight Night 167, as he was grounded repeatedly and outwrestled in a unanimous decision loss to Ray Borg at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., on Feb. 15. While Borg missed weight, it doesn’t make the setback any easier to accept for the Brazilian, who began his promotional tenure with triumphs over Raulian Paiva and Magomed Bibulatov.7. Matt Schnell (14-5)
Schnell didn’t hesitate to trade punches during a frenetic duel with Alexandre Pantoja at UFC Fight Night 165 in Busan, South Korea. While “Danger” certainly landed his share — and even buckled his opponent on one occasion — he ultimately succumbed to a counter right hand to lose by knockout in the opening stanza. The defeat halted a four-bout winning streak for the American Top representative, who was coming off consecutive submission wins over Jordan Espinosa and Louis Smolka.8. Alex Perez (23-5)
Perez made a statement at UFC Fight Night 166 in Raleigh, N.C., submitting Jordan Espinosa with an arm-triangle choke in the opening round of their flyweight bout. In his last 11 professional outings, Perez has only lost to perennial contender Joseph Benavidez. In the aftermath of his latest victory, the 27-year-old Team Oyama product expressed interest in a bout against Askar Askarov.9. Brandon Moreno (16-5-1)
After briefly parting ways with the UFC following a two-bout skid from 2017 to 2018, Moreno seems to be back on track. “The Assassin Baby” is unbeaten in his last three professional outings, a stretch that includes a flyweight title victory in Legacy Fighting Alliance and a unanimous verdict against Kai-Kara France in his most recent appearance at UFC 245. He’ll square off against Jussier Formiga next at UFC Brasilia on March 14.10. Kai Kara-France (21-8, 1 NC)
Kara-France continues to carve at a solid resume in the flyweight division, as he relied on superior movement and volume to capture a unanimous decision triumph against Tyson Nam at UFC Auckland on Feb. 22. The 26-year-old City Kickboxing representative has been victorious in four of five Octagon appearances, with his only setback coming at the hands of Brandon Moreno. “Don’t Blink” has his sights set on a fight at the promotion’s upcoming pay-per-view view event in June, which is expected to take place in Australia.Other Contenders: Jordan Espinosa, Askar Askarov, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Joshua Pacio, Yunus Evloev.
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