With the merger of the WEC into the UFC, Zuffa just pushed the 135 and 145-lb weight classes to the forefront. Is it too soon to start talking about the 125ers?
There are several prominent flyweights featured on a Tachi Palace card in Lemoore, California, who'd like to be the next small fighters to step into the spotlight.
The Visalia Times Delta says Tachi Palace Fights 8 (free stream on MMAjunkie.com - 8:30 p.m. ET) is essentially holding its own 125-tournament tonight:
TPF 125-pound champion Ulysses Gomez (7-1) will defend his title in a 5-round bout against Darrell Montague (8-1), and Jussier da Silva (9-0), who is regarded as the world's top 125-pound fighter, will put his undefeated record on the line against World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Ian McCall (8-2).
Tachi Palace Fighting knows it has something specials with the flyweights.
"It is the most important weight class we have," said Tachi Palace entertainment coordinator Jeremy Luchau. "Some people do see it as a tournament because we have some of the best guys in the world. It is an opportunity for guys who have been in our promotion to showcase their skills against some of the top fighters from around the world."
There's also a ton of intrigue around the debut of another small fighter, but this guy is a little thicker. Tyler Freeland, a little person at just 4-foot-11, is making his pro debut.
Freeland, nicknamed "Hulk Hands," put together an impressive 16-4 mark in the amateur ranks.
"It’s dwarfism, a bone disorder where my bones stopped growing," Freeland told Sherdog.com in describing his hypochondroplasia. "I’m about four eleven, but I tell everyone I’m five feet. I need that extra inch."
Walking around 160 pounds, Freeland is no tiny guy. But he realizes, he'd have a tough time at 155 pounds, where many of the fighters are in the 5-9 to 5-11 range. He'll make his debut at 145 and hopes to eventually get down to 135. Freeland, 26, recently began training at Las Vegas' TapouT Training Center with Shawn Tompkins.
Tompkins said just like any fighter, Freeland, 26, has to work around certain limitations.
"With his height, it’s always harder to strike with someone taller than you," Tompkins says, "but it’s harder to wrestle with someone shorter. Their level-change is so much faster than yours."
He said Freeland has something you can't necessarily teach.
"What most impressed me is that he has a lot of power in his hands," he adds. "He’s got KO power and very big hands. He hits hard and is very precise. He has a really good wrestling pedigree. I’ve just been banking on rounding his game out, keeping him safe from submissions and working on his standup. We’ve been having fun and building from there."
Freeland faces Diego Melendez. They met in the amateur ranks and Melendez won via triangle. Freeland says he took that fight on short notice and things will be different this time.
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