Report: TJ Dillashaw to drop to 125 pounds, will challenge Henry Cejudo for Flyweight title

Hold off on that 125-pound division cancelation for the timebeing? Or maybe just one last hurrah ...

Per reports from Brett Okamoto on Twitter, comes the somewhat confusing news that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw, will be coming down in weight to face the newly-minted Flyweight kingpin, Henry Cejudo. This fight is slated to be the headliner at UFC 233 on Jan. 26, 2019, in Anaheim, California.

The source of the confusion lies in the fact that by nearly every account, the men’s Flyweight division is being closed down, with multiple fighters getting released.

Jose Torres was the first to take to social media to inform the world that he’d been cut. He was soon followed by Jarred Brooks, who also posted that he has been released, but there’s some confusion on whether he was cut or his contract simply wasn’t renewed.

There are quite a few options to consider here. It’s possible that UFC has had a change of heart in scrapping the entire division, although it seems unlikely, given that it just made a historic trade of the most dominant champion in the company’s history for Ben Askren. Going on the presumption that Flyweight is indeed on the chopping block, this is a little more confusing, but one has to guess that UFC plans to use this as either as an excuse or an opportunity for Cejudo.

The contingency if Cejudo wins would be to offer him a Bantamweight rematch with Dillashaw and give him the opportunity to become double champ ... then shutter Flyweight.

This is all speculation, but we now know what the main event at UFC 233 will be. Congratulations to the numerous Maniacs planning on attending this card — you’ve got a great fight as the main event. To those seeing Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader for the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix title up the road in Inglewood, maybe this possibly historic conclusion to the division is enough to change your ticket-buying plans?