According to a Jan. 23 report from Yahoo! Sports, UFC fans love exciting knockout finishes, and the flyweights haven't been delivering those at a high rate since being introduced to the promotion last year.
That may be one of the biggest problems facing the UFC, Fox and guys like Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson, who will fight for the UFC flyweight title on Jan. 26 at the United Center in Chicago.
"Joseph [Benavidez], John [Dodson] and I, none of the three of us have ever been finished by anybody," said Johnson, the UFC's flyweight champion. "Joseph and I have fought the best at both 125 and 135 and none of those guys have finished us. The likelihood of that happening is low.
"When you're facing someone who is legitimately one of the best guys in the world, and both of you are very well-rounded and fast and technical, it's more of a chess match sometimes. There probably aren't going to be a lot of finishes."
UFC President Dana White thinks MMA fans who boo the flyweights aren't true supporters of the sport.
"If you didn't like the flyweight fight, please, I'm begging you, don't ever buy another UFC pay-per-view again," White said. "I don't want your money. You're a moron. You don't like fighting. You don't appreciate talent."
Dodson thinks all it may take is a little time for MMA fans to warm up to the flyweights.
"Really, all it is going to take is some time and some familiarity," Dodson said. "A lot of fans say they want to see their fighters go balls to the wall for 25 minutes and let it all hang out. That's what we do. Once the fans realize that the smaller fighters are actually giving the fans what they want to see, then maybe we'll get more appreciation, like the heavyweights do."
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