UFC 152 Fight Card: Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson Had to Happen

One year ago, there were two fighters in the bantamweight division who were considered to be smaller than the rest of the division. Fans would frequently talk about a fight between the two and wonder how it would turn out.

Those two fighters were Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson. These two will finally match up on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 152

This fight had to happen, and Dana White and company knew that for quite a long time.

While in the bantamweight division, these two were never matched up, never rumored for a fight and never came close to fighting at all.

White knew that the flyweight division would eventually enter the UFC as the eighth weight class, and when it did, he wanted these two to fight for the title.

He ended up turning it into a tournament format. Benavidez and Johnson were not matched up with each other in the first round. Benavidez fought Yasuhiro Urushitani and Johnson fought Ian McCall.

It was no coincidence that these two weren't matched up against each other. White wanted Benavidez and Johnson to fight for the first-ever UFC Flyweight Championship.

This fight had to happen eventually, and White had a plan for exactly how he wanted it to happen.

On Saturday night, the UFC will crown its first-ever flyweight champion, and Dana White has got to be happy with the way it turned out; except of course for the whole scoring fiasco with the first fight between Johnson and McCall.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.