Photo credit to DAZN
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno 4 targeted for July
It seems the rivalry between flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former champion Brandon Moreno is not yet settled. The UFC appears to be moving forward with having these two men face off for the fourth time in a title bout later this year. The news was first reported by Ariel Helwani on his substack. Although the contest is not official yet, the bout could be added to an event this summer, specifically July.
Figueiredo came into the UFC back in 2017, after stringing together several impressive wins he was rewarded with his first shot at the UFC flyweight title against Joseph Benavidez in 2020. Figueiredo won that bout but missed weight which prevented him from taking home the belt. He followed that up with yet another win over Benavidez and became the champion. His title reign was going well until he met Moreno. That first meeting ended in a majority draw and was a fight of the year contender.
Moreno got his UFC start as a member of The Ultimate Fighter season 24. He had a tough go of it at first and was released by the UFC, he worked his way back and proved that he was a force to be reckoned with. That first fight with Figueiredo was so impressive that he was granted an immediate rematch and won the belt. As the UFC sometimes does, the trilogy fight was booked right away and this time it was Figueiredo coming out on top. With the record 1-1-1 for these two fighters, a fourth bout seemed logical in the future, but right away? This is an unprecedented move by the UFC having them fight each other four times straight.
The rest of the top five of the flyweight division has been on hold for the last two years and now will wait for longer. There are several great prospects in the top five who could have stepped in against the champ to prevent this repetitive title fight from happening, however, it seems the UFC is happy to play a flyweight groundhog day all over again.
