UFC Portland: Clearing Up the Bantamweight Division
When John Lineker and John Dodson collide in the main event of UFC Portland, the two will be vying for a spot in the upper echelons of the confusing bantamweight division.
It was not too long ago that the UFC’s bantamweight division was experiencing a log jam. Renan Barao had control of the division with an iron fist and contenders like Urijah Faber and TJ Dillashaw were expected to be mere blips in a long title reign.
Such was the situation since the return of Dominick Cruz was becoming more of a footnote rather than a highly anticipated bout.
Today, “The Dominator” has regained the title and dispatched Dillashaw and Faber in less than a year to find himself without a decorated challenger. Barao is nowhere to be seen, having moved north to the featherweight division earlier this year.
With Cody Garbrandt seemingly being the next challenger for the belt, Dodson and Lineker find themselves in a very opportunistic position. Both are exciting fighters with the ability to end bouts quickly. An impressive victory could leap-frog the winner into a title eliminator in their next fight.
For Dodson, a victory puts him on the fast-track to a title shot after being far removed from the title picture at flyweight following a second loss to dominant champion Demetrious Johnson. Originally, the move for Dodson came while Dillashaw was still champion. Having quickly dispatched of Dillashaw in The Ultimate Fighter Finale years ago, the idea was that a few wins could make for a compelling storyline that could get him back in a world-title match.
For Lineker, he rides a five fight win-streak that he capped off with a first-round knockout victory over the heavy-hitting Michael McDonald in his most recent bout. A victory for Lineker likely propels him into a bout with Dillashaw in an eliminator or even a title opportunity.
Perhaps most shockingly, second-ranked Bryan Caraway is nowhere to be heard in terms of discussion of the top-fighters in the division. Most recently, Caraway turned down a fight with the surging Garbrandt due to hopes for his own crack at the title. The latter has obviously not come to pass and the door is open on Saturday for a new contender to catapult themselves to the front of the line.
Want your voice heard? Join the Cage Pages team!
Even more interesting is that it seems Dominick Cruz has his own hopes of a superfight with featherweight champion Conor McGregor after having cleared the most obvious threats to his title.
While McGregor’s participation at UFC 205 will likely push Cruz to defend his title again before a superfight can take place, the possibility of a second UFC champion pursuing interests outside their division could make the already confusing bantamweight division even more interesting.
More from Cage Pages
This article originally appeared on 
