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Flyweight (125 lbs)

Demetrious Johnson's record 11-defense reign, the Henry Cejudo upset, the Brandon Moreno trilogy, and the current Alexandre Pantoja era.

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The division

UFC Flyweight is up to 125 lbs. Inaugurated in 2012 with a four-man tournament. The smallest sanctioned weight class for men in the UFC (the women's strawweight is smaller at 115). Atomweight (105 lbs) exists in some promotions including ONE Championship and Invicta but is not currently a UFC weight class.

The champion lineage

  • 2012-2018: Demetrious Johnson — 11 consecutive title defenses, UFC record at any weight class
  • 2018-2019: Henry Cejudo — won title from Johnson at UFC 227, retired briefly
  • 2019-2020: Vacant period during Cejudo's two-division reign
  • 2020-2021: Deiveson Figueiredo
  • 2021: Brandon Moreno
  • 2021-2022: Brandon Moreno → Deiveson Figueiredo — trilogy era
  • 2022-2023: Brandon Moreno (third bout)
  • 2023-present: Alexandre Pantoja — four defenses through 2025

The Demetrious Johnson era (2012-2018)

Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson's flyweight title reign is the most-defended UFC championship in promotional history. Eleven consecutive title defenses:

  1. John Dodson 1 (UFC on Fox 6, January 2013)
  2. John Moraga (UFC on Fox 8, July 2013)
  3. John Dodson 2 (UFC 191, September 2015)
  4. Joseph Benavidez 1 (UFC on Fox 9, December 2013)
  5. Ali Bagautinov (UFC 174, June 2014)
  6. Chris Cariaso (UFC 178, September 2014)
  7. Joseph Benavidez 2 (UFC 191, December 2015)
  8. Kyoji Horiguchi (UFC 186, April 2015)
  9. Henry Cejudo 1 (UFC 197, April 2016)
  10. Tim Elliott (TUF 24 Finale, December 2016)
  11. Wilson Reis (UFC on Fox 24, April 2017)
  12. Ray Borg (UFC 216, October 2017) — the famous suplex-to-armbar finish

Lost the title to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 (August 2018) by split decision. The most-defended UFC championship reign ended in one bout.

The Henry Cejudo era and the vacancy

Cejudo defended the flyweight title once — KO of TJ Dillashaw at UFC Brooklyn (January 2019) in 32 seconds — before moving up to bantamweight. He vacated the flyweight title in late 2019.

The vacancy was filled by Deiveson Figueiredo (December 2020), starting the Figueiredo-Moreno trilogy era.

The Figueiredo-Moreno trilogy (2020-2022)

Three bouts in 13 months:

  • UFC 256 (December 2020): Figueiredo retained by majority draw against Moreno
  • UFC 263 (June 2021): Moreno won the title by submission round 3
  • UFC 270 (January 2022): Figueiredo regained the title by UD
  • UFC 277 (July 2022): Moreno reclaimed the title via TKO

The trilogy was the most-active flyweight championship rivalry in UFC history.

The Alexandre Pantoja era (2023-present)

Alexandre Pantoja won the title from Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 (July 2023) — split decision in their fourth career meeting (including the TUF Brazil 24 tournament). Four defenses:

  • vs Brandon Royval 1 (UFC 296, December 2023) — UD
  • vs Steve Erceg (UFC 301, May 2024) — submission round 2
  • vs Kai Asakura (UFC 310, December 2024) — submission round 2 (Asakura was the RIZIN flyweight champion making his UFC debut)
  • vs Brandon Royval 2 (UFC 317, June 2025) — UD

Pantoja's BJJ black belt and back-take pressure define the post-Johnson flyweight template.

The GOAT case

Demetrious Johnson is the consensus all-time flyweight #1, and one of the strongest all-time pound-for-pound cases regardless of weight class. The 11-defense reign, the technical complete-fighter game, and the willingness to attempt unconventional submissions (the Ray Borg suplex-to-armbar) make him one of the most-decorated technical UFC champions in history.

The post-Johnson era has not produced a successor at his level. Cejudo's brief reign and Pantoja's four-defense current reign are credible candidates but well short of Johnson's championship math.

Notable bouts

  • Demetrious Johnson vs Ray Borg (UFC 216, October 2017): the suplex-to-armbar finish in round 5.
  • Demetrious Johnson vs Henry Cejudo 2 (UFC 227, August 2018): the split-decision title change.
  • Henry Cejudo vs TJ Dillashaw (UFC Brooklyn, January 2019): the 32-second KO that ended Dillashaw's career.
  • Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo 3 (UFC 277, July 2022): the trilogy-closing finish.
  • Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Asakura (UFC 310, December 2024): the cross-promotion championship test.

The flyweight division's combination of Johnson's record-setting reign and the Pantoja-era depth makes it the most-technical weight class in modern MMA.

Other divisions

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
From Dominick Cruz's footwork era through the Petr Yan DQ and the modern Sterling-O'Malley-Dvalishvi
Featherweight (145 lbs)
José Aldo's six-year reign, the McGregor 13-second KO, the Holloway era, and the modern Volkanovski-
Heavyweight (265 lbs)
The UFC's marquee weight class — from the Vale Tudo open-weight era through the Brock Lesnar box-off
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
The UFC's most-storied division — Liddell, Couture, Jon Jones, Pereira. The PRIDE middleweight brack
Lightweight (155 lbs)
The Khabib era, the Conor McGregor box office, and the current Islam Makhachev / Ilia Topuria succes
Middleweight (185 lbs)
Anderson Silva's record-setting reign through the Adesanya-Pereira era and the current Dricus du Ple
Welterweight (170 lbs)
GSP's nine title defenses, the Hughes-Penn era, and the modern Usman-Edwards-Muhammad bracket.
Women's Flyweight (125 lbs)
The Valentina Shevchenko era, the Alexa Grasso trilogy, and the deepest active women's UFC division.
Women's Strawweight (115 lbs)
From the Joanna Jędrzejczyk reign through the Rose Namajunas head-kick KO and the modern Zhang Weili