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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The flyweight rematch between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall will serve as the UFC on FX 3 headliner on June 8, but it will only be contested as a three round bout.
While the UFC is making all main event fights five-round bouts, they will only be making this a three rounder with a "sudden death" fourth round, as it's still part of the mini-tournament to crown the first Flyweight Champion.
That news comes from Dana White, who confirmed in an interview with MMAJunkie.com that the fight would only be three as Joseph Benavidez's tournament win came in a three round bout. Still, White believed the two deserved the headlining slot on this card.
"If they fought a five-round fight and it's a draw, they'd have to go to a sixth round," White said. "But it's the main event. Those guys deserve to be the main event, especially the way everything went down and as great as that fight was."
The first fight ended in a draw at UFC on FX 2, which should have warranted a "sudden death" fourth round, but the scores were tabulated incorrectly and Johnson was mistakenly announced as the victor. The winner of this rematch will face Benavidez later this year for the first ever UFC Flyweight Championship.
Penick's Analysis: It's the right move to keep it a three round fight, even though five rounds of it would be awesome. The other semifinal was only a three-rounder, this one should be as well. And perhaps the draw in the first fight will urge both fighters to try to bring a more decisive finish to this one. The first fight was fantastic, and I'm extremely excited to see the rematch. It will make a solid headliner considering it's one of three free events during the month, and it should make for another great fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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