With the lower weight class champions not proving to be major draws as pay-per-view headliners, the UFC appears to have slightly changed course as TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson will both defend their titles at UFC 177.
Dllashaw’s rematch with Renan Barao was already planned as the headliner, but Johnson’s defense of his title was announced just earlier tonight.
Johnson will face Chris Cariaso, the number eight ranked flyweight in the UFC. Cariaso has fought two ranked opponents in his time in the UFC, going 0-2 in those fights.
The stacking of title fights is a smart plan as Johnson vs. Cariaso would likely do miserably as a headliner, given Cariaso’s complete lack of name recognition. Johnson’s last title defense, at UFC 174, was rumored to be in the 95k-115k PPV buy range, though I’ve heard numbers as low as 85k and Yahoo reported 125k.
Johnson will be looking for his sixth straight title fight victory while Cariaso is currently enjoying a three fight win streak, though the combined UFC record of the three men he beat currently sits at 1-5.
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