Every time a UFC champion moves his or her belt to another weight division, someone in that weight division takes a hit. This is especially evident when you look back, Frankie Edgar found himself out of the loop when the competition between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz got intense and likewise, Robert Whittaker has been sidelined with the introduction of ex welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre into the middleweight division. These are just two examples, just the tip of the ice berg.
This time around, this scenario is playing itself out as bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw is keen on making the move to the flyweight division and challenge himself against Demetrious Johnson. So, who gets left behind this time? Well, that honor will go to Jimmie Rivera who stands at 135 pounds.
Technically speaking, Rivera should have already been scheduled for a title fight given his record. He has taken on and beaten illustrious opponents such as the likes of Luri Alcantara, Thomas Almeida and even Urijah Faber. Not only has he achieved wins against such names, but has done so pretty convincingly on several occasions too. Dominick Cruz may have been the one for the Bantamweight title shot, however, given his arm injury, Jimmy Rivera is a no brainer in terms of being the right candidate for a bantamweight title shot.
However, despite how obvious it is to the rest of us, the UFC does not seem to agree. Instead of a title fight, Rivera has been pit against a pretty deadly John Lineker and will have to come out victorious if he does not want to see his name do bottom of the titles hot contenders list.
Lineker is no slouch in the ring. He knows how to throw and connect body punches very effectively. His record currently stands at 11-3. In terms of predictions, we know for a fact that Rivera is capable of victory here, its just a shame that he has to take this risk at all, though. We will go with Rivera to win by unanimous decision.
Author : Rory McGregor
