Bellator MMA to launch new men's division

Although the exact launch date isn’t yet known, MMA Junkie has confirmed that Bellator MMA will add a new men’s division sometime in the near future.

The promotion will add men’s flyweight (125 pounds) as its 10th weight class, giving the company eight men’s divisions and two women’s divisions. Bellator now has two fewer weight classes than the UFC, which has 12, and four more than the PFL, which has six.

One of Bellator’s top fighters, Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5), who competes at bantamweight (135 pounds), was scheduled to fight Ray Borg (16-5) in the promotion’s first flyweight bout in April, but the fight was scrapped after Borg reportedly had trouble making weight.

Horiguchi, who is undersized for a bantamweight fighter despite winning the division’s titles in both the Bellator and RIZIN promotions, has been advocating for Bellator to add the 125-pound weight class for some time.

“My weight is normally very light for bantamweight,” Horiguchi told MMA Fighting in December. “I can make flyweight very easily, so that’s why I’m moving [there]. … [I feel better at flyweight] because my weight is very, very light. I talked with [Bellator president Scott Coker] a little bit but not a deep conversation. I just said I want flyweight — can you make it?”

While Horiguchi would likely be the face of the Bellator flyweight division, there’s opportunity for the promotion to sign some of the top-ranked 125-pound fighters currently competing outside of the UFC including Jose Torres (11-1-1), Zach Makovsky (21-11), Ali Bagautinov (22-7), Dustin Ortiz (20-9) and Rafael Estevam (11-0).