TORONTO – The UFC's flyweight division will debut in March, and a four-man tournament will determine the company's first-ever 125-pound champion.
UFC president Dana White on Saturday announced Demetrious Johnson faces Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez meets Yasuhiro Urushitani at March's UFC on FX 2 event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed with sources close to the event that the two fights will take place in Australia, most likely at Sydney's Allphones Arena (formerly Acer Arena). The same venue hosted UFC 110 and UFC 127, which averaged nearly 18,000 attendees per show.
UFC 110 and UFC 127 were held on Sunday, which meant stateside fans watched the event live on Saturday night due to the time difference between the U.S. and Australia. UFC on FX 3 is expected to take place on Sunday, March 4, but air live in the U.S. on Saturday, March 3.
The pay-per-view main card of UFC 144 in Japan also takes place Sunday locally but airs live on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) in North America.
Johnson (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) looks to rebound from an October loss to UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz in a failed bid for the promotion's 135-pound title. "Mighty Mouse" has long been considered an undersized bantamweight, yet he still put together a four-fight win streak while competing for the UFC and WEC.
Johnson was expected to face Eddie Wineland at January's UFC on FOX 2 event. Wineland is expected to remain on that card against a new opponent.
Johnson now meets McCall (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who makes his UFC debut. "Uncle Creepy" also competed three times under the WEC banner, earning a win over Coty Wheeler but also falling short to Cruz and Charlie Valencia. McCall currently boasts a four-fight win streak and will vacate Tachi Palace Fights' flyweight belt in order to move to the octagon.
Benavidez (15-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) looks to remain undefeated in the UFC after notching back-to-back decision wins over Eddie Wineland and Ian Loveland. The Team Alpha Male product's lone career losses came in the WEC in two attempts to down Cruz.
Urushitani (19-4-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) brings a five-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. The 35-year-old Shooto bantamweight champion has been fighting professionally since 2001 and holds notable career wins over John Dodson and Mamoru Yamaguchi, among others.
Source: UFC adds flyweights: Johnson vs. McCall, Benavidez vs. Urushitani at UFC on FX 2