UFC 140: Dana White Announces the Debut of the Flyweight Division

UFC 140 went off without a hitch in Toronto Saturday night, and during the post-fight presser Dana White announced the debut of the flyweight division in the UFC on March 3.

The kickoff for the new division will feature two fights between a couple of UFC bantamweights and two guys from outside the organization.

Former No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Demetrious Johnson (9-2-0) will take on newcomer Ian McCall (11-2-0). Another former No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender, Joseph Benavidez, will take on newcomer Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-4-6).

Urushitani maybe new to the UFC but not to the sport as he is a veteran with almost 30 fights under his belt.

The winners of these two fights will move on to fight for the first UFC flyweight championship belt.

The UFC has been talking about the flyweight division for a while, and now it's here. This will be the third division the UFC has added to the roster in the last year. After absorbing its sister promotion, the WEC, at the end of 2010, the UFC added the bantamweight and featherweight divisions along with the fighters who fought in them from the WEC.

This will add to the depth of the UFC talent pool which will once again help the promotion deal with the busy schedule they have planned for 2012.

The addition of this division also provides a new home for undersized bantamweight fighters like Johnson and Benavidez. It will be interesting to see which other fighters choose to make the drop to 125 pounds and how fans will take to the lighter weight class going forward.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the B/R MMA team Follow @Leon_Horne