Wilson Reis believes UFC flyweight division will be dissolved by July: ‘It’s really confusing’

Bloodyelbow.com

Flyweight contender Wilson Reis is unsure about his future in the UFC ever since rumors of his weight class being dissolved started to emerge in the past few months. Only a few days away of a bout against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 236, the Brazilian expressed his concern to Combate.

During the interview, Reis not only explained how the UFC doesn’t let fighters in on the entire situation, but also how he feels like the end of the flyweight division could come as soon as the next months.

“It’s really confusing,” Reis said. “The UFC doesn’t tell fighters anything about the division, if it’s going to continue or not. I believe that, in the UFC, there is only me, Alexandre Pantoja, Jussier Formiga, Deiveson Figueiredo, Joseph Benavidez, and Henry Cejudo. Very few people. You can see that after Pantoja, in the rankings, there are only some odd fighters, so you can’t tell. I believe we’ll have flyweight fights up until June or July, tops, then they’ll end the division. Especially with Cejudo fighting at bantamweight.”

“That’s why this fight is so important,” Reis continued. “A win could put me in a great position. I could get a title eliminator fight or a fight against some well ranked, like Formiga. Either that or I’ll move up. It’s all up in the air now. I’m only concerned about my next fight, about winning. I trained hard to score a great win on Saturday.”

Currently coming off of a unanimous decision over Ben Nguyen in December 2018, Reis was on a three-fight losing skid before the victory. During that time, the 34-year-old lost to some of the biggest names in his division — John Moraga, Henry Cejudo, and Demetrious Johnson.

Reis vs. Pantoja will happen on the prelims of UFC 236, in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 13. The card will be headlined by a fight for the interim lightweight title between the current featherweight champion Max Holloway and contender Dustin Poirier.