Justin Scoggins said the UFC offered him a short-notice fight at UFC Denver earlier this month, which he accepted right away. But before he knew it, he was no longer on the UFC flyweight roster.
After Mark Espinosa fell off the card, Scoggins accepted a fight against Mark De La Rosa on Nov. 10 at Pepsi Center. On a three-fight skid, Scoggins wasted no time in saying yes; he hoped he’d be able to renegotiate a contract as a bantamweight with a win. But the next call he got was from his manager, telling Scoggins the division is being scrapped and that he won’t be asked to move up to 135 pounds.
“It seems kind of f-cked up, because I was told they were gonna honor that last fight and let me fight it out,” Scoggins told Bloody Elbow.
Scoggins said it’s “bullsh-t” that the UFC didn’t keep him as a bantamweight, especially because he’s fought in the heavier division before.
“Of course it wasn’t in writing, but I got word, I got your word as a man, that we were gonna honor your last fight and give you a chance to prove us to rock whatever we were gonna throw at you,” Scoggins said. “And that’s what I’ve been expecting, and that’s what I’ve been preparing for.”
Though the UFC has yet to make the flyweight division’s demise official, it has already released several other flyweights, including Jose Torres, Jarred Brooks, and Roberto Sanchez. It seems likely that lower-ranked and non-ranked fighters coming off one or more losses will be cut, while top contenders and fighters in the winning column will be asked to move up to bantamweight.
“The higher-ups of the UFC, they don’t see the flyweight division for what it is — how technical it is, and how really special that division really is,” Scoggins said. “It wasn’t hard for them to feel like they can save some money on it, and really to keep whoever they feel like are superstars.”
Scoggins said he thinks a lot of flyweight fights are “boring”; he understands why the UFC is getting rid of the division. That said, he added that it’s a “shame” fans will miss out on “pure and really good technique” once the division is gone for good.
“There’s not a lot of the big finishes, the big knockouts,” Scoggins said. “A lot of guys at flyweight are really good wrestlers, good at controlling fights and not getting into brawls.”
The UFC added the division in 2012. Demetrious Johnson was champion from its existence to this past August, when Henry Cejudo dethroned him by split decision at UFC 227. Johnson recently left the promotion for ONE Championship as part of a trade that also included Ben Askren, who signed with the UFC.
Scoggins thought Johnson losing was actually good for the division, as that fight opened it right up, giving fighters who had already lost to Johnson a chance at the belt. He remained “hopeful” about the division’s future, but said he “started feeling a little weird about everything” once Johnson was traded.
“When [Johnson] lost, I was like, ‘OK, this just opened up a huge fricking window for everybody, for every contender,’” Scoggins said. “There were so many fights to be made.
“I thought it felt like a spark. I guess I read it wrong, obviously.”
Scoggins isn’t sure the Johnson-Askren “trade” will work out in the UFC’s favor.
“Ben Askren’s a badass, but with the UFC’s competition and the weight class he’s in, it’s gonna be hard to market him,” Scoggins said. “He’s fighting Robbie Lawler — he’s getting knocked the f-ck out his first fight.”
Scoggins said that Johnson never got the recognition he deserved throughout his six-year run as 125-pound champion.
“That dude dominated that weight class the entire time it existed,” Scoggins said. “You’re promoting Brock Lesnar and sh-t; you got a real martial artist in Demetrious Johnson, and nobody in the UFC gives a sh-t. You’re gonna sell tickets for this guy from WWE, who’s not even really worth this sh-t.”
Scoggins said the legacy of the flyweight division will surround “Mighty Mouse” and the unfair treatment he received.
“Demetrious Johnson and how he got screwed over the whole time,” Scoggins said when asked how the division will be remembered. “You had the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and you crapped on him the whole time — until you killed the division. Congratulations.”
As far as what’s next for Scoggins, he wants to get back into the cage and get paid as soon as possible. He said his management is in talks with ONE Championship and that he hopes to be part of its upcoming flyweight tournament. But if nothing in MMA comes to fruition, Scoggins said he’d also be interested in opportunities in boxing and kickboxing.
“Supposedly [ONE is] bringing in the best flyweights in the world for the tournament,” he said. “If I’m not in the tournament, y’all don’t have the best flyweights in the world.”