Top 10 Flyweight MMA Fighters of The 2010s
While the world has been celebrating Demetrious Johnson for his unmatched exploits in MMA in the last decade, it is good to note that there are many uncelebrated fighters that achieved greatness in that field.
We are looking back at that flyweight division in the last decade. It is visibly clear that the UFC dominated the division because other sectors lacked promotions. In the list below, we look at players from all angles that did great things in flyweight. You can actually predict the next winners of many UFC competitions, read more about MMA betting in this article, you will find info including basic betting tips, betting markets & odds.
1. Demetrious Johnson
He has successfully defended his title 11 consecutive times to tell the world that they’ve not found anyone to beat him to it. He also holds a 14 fight streak without any defeat in his career, losing only once in a fight that its result was hugely controversial and fiercely contested. He has dominated the division so much that people got tired of giving him credit for it. He took down Kyoji Horiguchi within seconds, defeated Joseph Benavidez with a knock-out and did Ray Borg dirty with an arm-bar.
2. Joseph Benavidez
Now, the person that should have been the number one here is Benavidez, but Johnson never allowed that to happen. His record of most wins in the history of the UFCs in the flyweight division is the same with Johnson’s. They have 13 each, which is mostly underrated. He only lost to Mighty Mouse and that was when he was coming out of a repair to Sergio Pettis. Some people forget that he has won Cejudo and has three other former challengers.
3. Henry Cejudo
Though Henry has chosen to remain in the bantamweight from now on, he took down the reigning Mighty Mouse in an epic manner. This consoled his lovers for the loss to Jonson earlier and destroyed what Benavidez had achieved in the game, erasing the shame of Cejudo’s loss to him. Of course, he lost to him in a controversial manner.
4. Deiveson Figueiredo
If you are among those that believe that Deiveson should be higher up in the list because he took down Joe-B with a powerful knockout, you don’t understand the list. The list focuses on the 2010s, and he did that exploit in 2020. So, it does not count much. However, during the period under review, he was not beaten in the 2010s til Formiga beat him. He had fights with title challengers like John Moraga and Tim Elliot and still was not beaten. He won 17 times in the last decade and only 3 of those went to decision. This makes him one of the best finishers out there.
5. John Dodson
If Dodson refused the temptation to move up to the bantamweight, he may have gotten higher on the list. He is disadvantaged here because he only had 9 flyweight fights and seven in the UFC. Just like we’ll all guess; he only lost to Johnson at 125. In this weight class, he is very unique because he always finishes a fight instead of going for a decision. In his entire five wins, he scored three stoppages all ending in very lethal knockouts. The only fighter he has won on this list is Jussier Formiga, and that’s why he is down here, instead of up there.
6. Jussier Formiga
The rule has always been that anyone who beats Formiga is headed for a title push, until he got defeated by Brandon Moreno. Does it mean that he is a huge stopper or that his choke artistry is masterful? Many people regarded Forminga as the best in the flyweight division around the 2010s. It’s 10 years now and his relevance has not waned one bit. In fact, he is the real deal.
8. Dustin Ortiz
Some will also name him the most uncelebrated of the entire flyweight fighters in MMA history. This Tennessee born fighter is like a workman. Though there are many losses in his catalog of results, he lost only to the best. He is always gunning to fight the top guys, and when he meets them, he always takes the fight to them. Names like McCall, Forminga and Benavidez are among them, and he won against Zach Makovsky and Alexandre Pantoja. The problem is that he was having his best moments when UFC was moving away from flyweight.
9. Sergio Pettis
Some may say that Pettis’ win against Benavidez is against a rusty opponent and that is why he is in this list. However, we also remember that he won Moraga and Brandon Morena, unless those are not are not classified as fights. He is known for calculated point fighting, and many fans may not cherish that. But he has however used that to do some exploits. This is a man that achieved a 9-5 result in UFC and 6-3 in flyweight.
10. Alexandre Pantoja
There were times many people saw him as the best in the flyweight division, and not in the UFC. But it was not easy for him to settle into the UFC when he made the leap. When he eventually leaped in, he seemed very threatening and title challenging…… only if the division remained in the UFC. Meanwhile, Alexandre needed not to prove himself to anyone again, because he had already done that in the flyweight division, and he still has a lot to offer.
