UFC puzzlingly axe one of the top contenders in arguably its weakest division

When the division has a notable dearth of contenders, why on Earth would you release two of the top-ranked fighters?

The UFC has a real problem with its flyweight division. Top of the pile is Demtrious Johnson, the pound-for-pound greatest fighter on the planet, but there's a huge gulf in class between him and the rest of the division. Since Ian McCall took took him to a draw in the first ever UFC flyweight fight in 2012, Mighty Mouse has gone on the tear, racking up 11 straight wins and nine title defences. He's been so dominant that finding opponents for him has proven to be a real issue for the UFC matchmakers. John Dodson dropped him the first time they threw down, but he was completely outclassed in the rematch and has since moved up to bantamweight. TUF winner Tim Elliott gave DJ arguably his toughest ever test as champion, but the weight cut proved too much for him and he's a bantamweight now as well. Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo set to slug it out again after their first fight ended in controversy, but they have both already been beaten by DJ, and Benavidez has been defeated by him twice. So with top 125 lb contenders being such a valuable commodity for the promotion, the decision to not renew ninth-ranked Ali Bagautinov's contract is a bit of a head scratcher. Although the one-time title-challenger is 1-3 in his last four fights, they came at the hands of Johnson, Benavidez and Kyoji Horiguchi - arguably the three greatest fighters in the division. He still has a positive UFC record of 4-3 and has notable wins over Elliott and knockout artist John Lineker. Bagautinov had served a year-long suspension after testing positive for EPO in his title-fight, but had since returned and had been competitive in all his losses and had defeated Gene Herrera in his second last trip to the Octagon before the Horiguchi loss in Belfast ended this tint in the UFC. Number 13-ranked Zach Makovsky was also cut after losing four of his past bouts. He’s currently on a three-fight skid, although each loss came to elite-level competition in Dustin Ortiz, Benavidez and Dodson.