What Would a UFC Flyweight Tournament Look Like?

Earlier this month, I wrote an article questioning the UFC's plan to introduce the flyweight division by the end of 2011.

UFC commissioner Dana White says that the organization has already signed a few flyweights to the roster, but they were still deciding how  to crown the first champion at 125 pounds.

I believe that the best way to bring in a completely new division under the Zuffa banner is through a tournament to crown the first champion, so let's play the "what-if" game: if the UFC were to hold a tournament consisting of the eight best fighters in the flyweight division, what would it look like?

Criteria

A few disclaimers before I begin the list:

• These choices are completely subjective and I expect backlash. 

• I placed exciting, finish-prone fighters at a higher priority than fighters with good records, but more decisions. It will be easier to promote these guys, so it's best to let their names become synonymous with the division. 

• I excluded fighters that are already in the UFC (No "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, no Joseph Benavidez, etc.)

• I also took out fighters that are rumored to appear on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter (there goes John Dodson)

Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-4-6) vs Darrell Montague (9-1)

The first matchup is between a fast-rising newcomer and a long-standing elite in the division.

Yasuhiro Urushitani is considered the no. 1 flyweight by many MMA analysts. The 34-year-old Shooto champion is fresh off of a win against Yuki Shojo on July 18th, which was his second straight knockout victory.

Despite his age, Urushitani is still a very patient counter-puncher with fast hands, similar to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. 

Meanwhile, Darrell Montague is the flyweight champion of Tachi Palace Fights, America's most prominent organization that houses the 125 pound division. The 23-year-old is very light on his feet and possesses crisp boxing skills; think Nick Diaz without the BJJ blackbelt.

Montague has finished all but two of his nine victims, including a devastating spinning back fist knockout in his MMA debut three years ago. He won the TPF title in dominating fashion, taking all five rounds from former champion Ulysses Gomez.

If Montague comes out and looks for a brawl, he could end up getting embarrassed early. But if he takes a page out of Usushitani's book and carefully picks his spots to explode, he could walk away with a win.

His best shot at earning a victory would be to take the fight to the ground - Urushitani isn't known for his submission skills and his lone submission victory came over nine years ago. Montague, on the other hand, has won three fights via rear-naked choke.

Urushitani has never fought outside of Japan, and Montague has yet to face the top fighters in the division; that and their contrast of styles should make for an entertaining fight.

The winner of this fight will face the winner of the Yamaguchi-da Silva fight.

Next fight (Montague): Ian McCall on August 5th, Tachi Palace Fights 10

Mamoru Yamaguchi (26-5-3) vs Jussier Da Silva (9-1)

If someone doesn't consider Urushitani the world's best flyweight, then their list probably has another Japanese legend at the top. 34-year-old Mamoru Yamaguchi has become one of Japan's most recognizable domestic fighters in and out of the cage (his trademark has garnered him the nickname "The Illest Fro In Asia"). 

Yamaguchi recently brought his skills stateside, signing an exclusive deal with Tachi Palace Fights. He ended this past May well with a KO victory over Kevin Dunsmoor. It is always interesting to see how Japanese fighters perform away from their home nation, but Yamaguchi's extensive resume in Asia should translate over to America nicely.

Yamaguchi is a counter puncher with ten wins by knockout and has finished his last four opponents. As an MMA veteran with over 30 professional bouts under his belt, he has a very relaxed style and rarely loses his composure. 

His opponent is also less than a year into his fighting career on American soil. Considered to be the divisions brightest prospects, 26-year-old Jussier da Silva compiled an undefeated record in Shooto; one of those wins was a unanimous decision over Shinici Kojima, who has submitted Yamaguchi twice. 

Da Silva stifles his opponents with takedowns and dominates them on the ground with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Sherdog ranked him the world's best flyweight earlier this year before his decision loss to Ian McCall in February. 

The McCall fight exposed serious holes in his standup game, as McCall stuffed nearly all of his takedowns and forced him to stand and trade. If da Silva cannot get Yamaguchi to the ground this would be a short outing, but Yamaguchi has questionable submission defense. If Da Silva can exploit this, he could steal an upset over one of the division's greats.

The winner of this bout would go on to face the winner of the Urushitani-Montague fight.

Mamoru Yamaguchi will face Jussier da Silva at Tachi Palace Fights 10 on August 5th.

Ian McCall (10-2) vs Yuki Shojo (11-6-2)

With their tenacious styles, this quarterfinal fight should bring the most fireworks. 

Former WEC veteran Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall has revitalized his career since dropping to 125 pounds. The California native immediately sent shock waves through the division with his upset of Jussier da Silva in February, in which McCall nullified the Brazilian's ground game.

McCall followed up this performance by blemishing another unbeaten record; this time the victim was Dustin Ortiz. The Ortiz fight was a similar mold to da Silva's, but with improved striking and "Uncle Creepy" taking every round decisively. 

His opponent is Yuki Shojo, a seasoned Shooto veteran with a great chin. Shojo's record may not look good on paper compared to the rest of the flyweights, but his last three losses have come against Urushitani, Yamaguchi, and Shinichi Kojima (Kojima would be in this tournament if he were still active). 

But don't call him a pretender - he beat Urushitani back in 2008 and is the last man to do so. 

McCall and Shojo are similar fighters - both are constantly moving, work well in the clinch, and neither is afraid to get aggressive. I can't see one finishing the other, so be prepared for three rounds of excitement.

The winner of this fight will face the winner of the Shimizu-Sunabe fight. 

Next fight (McCall): Darrell Montague on August 5th, Tachi Palace Fights 10

Kiyotaka Shimizu (9-4-2) vs Mitsuhisa Sunabe (13-7-4)

Historically speaking, matching Kiyotaka Shimizu and Mitsuhisa Sunabe in the quarterfinal round makes a ton of sense. 

The rivals and training partners have already fought four times before, with Shimizu winning the second and fourth by majority decision. Sunabe won the first fight unanimously, while their second meeting ended in a draw. 

Shimizu controls his opponents on the ground with top control and short punches, as shown by his last meeting with Sunabe. The story of the first round was the Shooto champion on top, dominating Sunabe.

Shimizu ran into problems later in the fight, when Sunabe began stuffing his attempts and punished him with shots, and Sunabe will certainly need to repeat that performance in order to win.

Mitsuhisa Sunabe is a physical specimen compared to the rest of the flyweight division. Standing at 5'8" and enjoying a sizable reach advantage over his opponents (a whopping six inches over Shimizu), Sunabe prefers to sit back and dare his opponents to come into range. 

And if they get careless, as you'll see in the video above against Takuya Eizumi, Sunabe can quickly finish the fight.

The winner of this fight will face the winner of the McCall/Shojo bout. 

Tournament Alternates

Alexis Vila (9-0) - Has finished all but one opponent, but is 40 years old and hasn't faced top competition. Scheduled to compete in Bellator's upcoming bantamweight tournament.

Rambaa Somdet (8-2) - Undefeated since returning from hiatus in 2007, but injuries have sidelined him for the past year. Isn't getting any younger at 36.

Akira Kibe (14-10-2) - Unflattering record, but the 34-year-old is 8-2 since 2008. 

Brandon Merkt (11-0) - 27 years old and has finished nine of his opponents. Fans will want American fighters, but Merkt hasn't fought for a major promotion.