The Bottom Line: The UFC’s Precarious Hope for Flyweight Momentum

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.* * * The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s effort to create fan interest in its beleaguered flyweight division has been nothing if not a continual struggle. Now over four and a half years in, the division has yet to produce a single fight that has captured the public imagination. With the 125-pounders needing all the help they can get, the UFC has pulled out the stops to try to get the division moving in the right direction. “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale on Saturday is an event the promotion hopes will produce the fruits of that labor.Seeking to raise interest in the men’s flyweight division like it did previously with the women’s strawweight division, the UFC has turned over its longstanding promotional vehicle to a flyweight tournament of champions. The concept felt a little gimmicky when it was announced, but it has turned out well. Having champions from different promotions has led to a greater professionalism, which in turn has produced more in the way of compelling personal backstories and less in the way of immature hijinks. It has also meant a high quality of fights, with some significant upsets, exciting battles and plenty of finishes, to boot. The primary goal of the season was to build possible foils for Demetrious Johnson: an immediate contender in the winner of the tournament, a next challenger in either Henry Cejudo or Joseph Benavidez and a group of future contenders from the tournament field. The early returns from the latter effort appear promising.Hiromasa Ogikubo has come across as likeable and soft-spoken, with a dangerous ground game; Eric Shelton looks like he might have the biggest upside of the bunch and had made the seed-makers …

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