Is the UFC’s flyweight division on the chopping block again? Back in 2018, when Jose “Shorty” Torres was let go by the promotion, with two fights remaining in his contract, rumors of UFC shutting down the division began. Torres also revealed that Dana White “wasn’t a fan” of the division. Six years later, questions around the division’s future may arise again given the circumstances in which unbeaten Muhammad Mokaev was let go and was followed by another promising flyweight probably getting the axe.

Mokaev’s departure came after his UFC 304 win over Manel Kape. During the post-event press conference, White revealed that the British-Dagestani fighter won’t be re-signing with the UFC. As the UFC world grappled with this surprise announcement, Nate Maness revealed that the promotion won’t continue with him and revealed the reason behind the decision.

Nate Maness distraught at being let go by the UFC

Out of his five wins in the UFC, Nate Maness has three finishes. The American has knocked out Tony Gravely and Mateus Mendonca in the past three years and won a $50k ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus for both of them. He also has one submission win in the promotion, for an over fifty percent finish rate in the Dana White-led promotion.

His 5-2 UFC record may not be anything to write home about, but certainly nothing that would usually warrant being cut, especially because of his two ‘FOTN’ performances. Having fought out his contract last month, he was expecting another UFC contract. The contract never came, and he was cut from the promotion.

Taking to X, Maness tweeted, “We received word back from the UFC matchmaker last week about why we weren’t re-signed. We were told the Flyweight division is comprised of exciting fighters and he doesn’t view me as exciting  I suppose half your fights being finishes/bonuses isn’t good enough now.”

Despite the two bonus-worthy performances and over fifty percent finish rate, White and the UFC didn’t see Maness as a long-term asset for the promotion. This is a big professional setback for Maness. However, there are other fishes in the sea, and the PFL or ONE Championship may be willing to pay him better than the legendarily stingy UFC to join their rosters. While going into other promotions may help the fighter flourish in his career, it can also result in him never returning to the UFC. This decision comes hot on the heels of Muhammed Mokaev being let go by the promotion.

Dana White is not a big fan of PFL and Muhammad Mokaev’s alleged conversations with them before his UFC contract came to an end are being considered as one of the reasons behind his axing. But Mokaev’s manager refuted the claims as “completely false.” So, is there more to the story?

In the post-event press conference of UFC 304, when asked about Mokaev’s future, White said, “I think the PFL [Professional Fighters League] is gonna get a great undefeated guy.” White then added, “I am sure one of the match makers probably said something to him or whatever. But ya the match makers aren’t a big fan of his for many different reasons.” Could Mokaev’s style being “boring” be one of the reasons?

Even though Mokaev’s hotel brawl with Kape, shortly before their fight didn’t put him in a good light, there were two people involved in the incident and only one got cut. Even though Mokaev beat Kape to take his unbeaten UFC streak to seven, the fight failed to live up to the expectations. Mokaev’s fighting style has come under the scanner and that was the case again at UFC 304. Could it be the reason UFC didn’t re-sign him, coupled with his controversies? Maness’s “boring” comment does lend some credibility to this speculation.

The UFC flyweight division has suffered from rumors about its future before. When in 2018 Jose Torres was released, he openly talked about the alleged disinterest Dana White has in keeping the division. Speaking to Bloody Elbow, he had claimed, “As of right now, the president, Dana White, is just not a fan — and never, ever has been — of the flyweight division, so why really promote and spend more money on a division you never built in the first place?”

If there is any truth to these claims and if White still believes the same about the division, it might not bode well for its future. Meanwhile, the two may not be the only 125-pounders getting the axe, if what the greatest flyweight ever fears turns out to be true.

Demetrious Johnson thinks the UFC may drop the flyweight division

After learning about Mokaev being cut despite the latter shaping up to be a title contender in the UFC’s flyweight division, Demetrious expressed concerns not only for the Englishman but the whole division. ‘Mighty Mouse’ felt that letting go of Mokaev may be an indication that the UFC was thinking about getting rid of the 125-pound division entirely.

“After hearing what Mokaev said at the [UFC 304 post-fight] press conference about the UFC speaking about his performance… I would not be surprised if they forced the flyweights to go up to 135,” Johnson said on his ‘Mightycast’ podcast. One could certainly see the UFC cutting Maness as another possible indication that the UFC was trimming the fat at 125 in preparation for dropping the division entirely.

Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson knows something about feeling hard done by the UFC. The former and inaugural UFC flyweight champion, after all, was almost forced out by the UFC, despite being one of the greatest fighters to grace the sport. The reason? Money. ‘DJ’, despite all of his accomplishments, was unable to sell PPVs, which led to differences between him and Dana White, ultimately causing him to move to another promotion.

There, however, is no other indication that Dana White is looking to do anything like this. What do you think about the UFC’s flyweight division’s future? Let us know in the comments below.