Deiveson Figueiredo improves to 3-0 at 135 lbs with win over Marlon Vera at UFC on ABC 7
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, August 3, 2024, for UFC on ABC 7, going down live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Headlining the event is a bantamweight bout between no. 2 ranked Cory Sandhagen (17-4) and no. 10 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov (17-0).
Co-headlining the event is a middleweight clash between a pair of knockout artists in Shara Magomedov (13-0) and Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8).
Our feature fight of the evening came in the bantamweight division between no. 4 ranked former title challenger Marlon Vera (23-10-1) and no. 6 ranked former two-time UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3-1).
Vera came into this evening’s feature fight off a defeat to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in their rematch, a fight he went into going 5-1 over his last six with wins over the likes of Davey Grant (UD), Frankie Edgar (KO), Rob Font (UD), Dominick Cruz (KO), and Pedro Munhoz (UD).
Figueiredo on the other hand had gone 2-0 since moving up to 135 lbs in December of 2023 with wins over Rob Font (UD) and former champion Cody Garbrandt (rear naked choke).
Continue reading to see how this bantamweight affair went down:
Official Result: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Vera got his leg kicks going early before loading up on a punch Figueiredo perfectly timed a double leg off of. Figueiredo spent a couple minutes in top position before Vera returned to his feet, Vera landing a nasty switch knee to the body where the former flyweight champion secured another takedown.
Vera did a much better job defending takedowns in the second, stuffing all five or six of them Figueiredo attempted. He controlled the center throughout the five-minute stretch and continued landing his leg kicks, also letting his hands go as the round went on.
Figueiredo shot in on a pair of takedowns to begin the third and final round, Vera easily shrugging them both off. Vera landed a pair of left hands midway through the round, first a shovel hook to the body and then a jab that stunned Figueiredo.
Soon after the Brazilian dropped Vera with a nasty overhand right though Vera recovered well. Both looked good with their striking, landing beautiful combinations onto the other, making round three the most competitive of the fight.
It’s too bad this one wasn’t five rounds; Figueiredo has gone five rounds twice in the past, going 1-0-1 in those encounters, and Vera nearly always does his best work as the fight goes on in the later rounds.
This one could’ve gone either way. Figueiredo won the first, Vera won the second, and round three was up for grabs with both contenders doing great work.
Nonetheless, at 36 years of age Deiveson Figueiredo improves to 3-0 up at 135 lbs in just eight months time.
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