Author:Gage Holder        Editor:Harrison Holder

I’m not here to sugarcoat anything or make this situation out to be something it’s not. A blessed man once said, “It is what it is”, and what we have is real ignorance at the top of the sport! Anyone who’s been paying attention to this site knows the current situation involving former UFC Flyweight Nate Maness, and if you don’t, check out my previous article to catch up! As a lifelong MMA fan, particularly the UFC, I can say I have never been more disappointed in the actions of the top MMA organization in the world than I am with them right now. The reason they gave Maness for not bringing him back after his contract expired a few months back with a company record of 5-2 is ludicrous. If I were to tell you that with five wins inside the UFC, he had become one of the 18 fighters in company history to win fights in three different weight classes. He had also collected three post-fight performance bonuses for spectacular finishes in his five wins, while only suffering two losses to heavy-pressure Russian grapplers. The last word you can think of for this fighter is far from boring.

Well, that’s the situation that has unfolded for Nate within the past couple of weeks, as he was told by a certain UFC matchmaker that he’s not exciting enough at 125 to be brought back. I find the situation completely laughable considering you would be hard-pressed to find any active Flyweight with three performance bonuses, let alone one that’s won from 125 up to 145! Nate is a fighter’s fighter he shows up anytime, anywhere, and any weight to fight anyone! He might not be overly brash on the mic or talk excess amounts of shit and be highly popular to the mainstream audience, but to say he’s “Not exciting” is just plain stupid and a flat-out lie. We have watched his fights, we have seen his style, and no matter what some unnamed UFC matchmaker said, Nate is very exciting. I’m just going to put this as simply as I can without offending too many people, but this is the same weight class in which Steve Erceg was given the last title shot after going 2-0 inside the company. He’s not more exciting than Nate and I honestly wouldn’t even consider him the same caliber of fighter. Jimmy Flick, who Nate just beat in his last performance, is still on the roster despite the loss and being 2-3 inside the organization.

Nate was on the brink of the top 15 and everyone around the sport who has any idea what’s going on knows the real reason for the UFC not bringing Nate back. One he’s not a big trash talker, he doesn’t move the needle on social media, and doesn’t overly sell everything involving him as some fighters do. That doesn’t make his fighting style any less exciting or make his value as an exciting fighter in a particular shallow weight class any less. The latter is also part of the reason I think this is happening. The flyweight division has been in limbo for years.  At one point the UFC and Dana cared so little about this weight class that they traded one of the top 5 fighters of all time who also has the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history. We all remember the Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson trade for the 2-year retired former One and Bellator Welterweight champion Ben Askren. The weight class thrived in a couple of years after the trade with some great fights and truly great rivalries, but I have noticed once again recently that the UFC might be looking to do away with the 125-pound division. They move a lot of fighters up to 135 as well as make some bonehead decisions to let fighters like Muhammad Mokaev, and Nate Maness walk for apparently next to no reason.

What are your thoughts on the entire situation with Nate? Also, do you see the UFC keeping the Flyweights around for the foreseeable future? Leave your comments and make sure to follow, like, share, and stay tuned for all your combat sports news from around the globe!