UFC 256 Main Event Breakdown: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
We have a very exciting, short notice main event this weekend at UFC 256, as Deiveson Figueiredo aims to defend his UFC Flyweight Championship for the second time. He’ll be facing the No. 1 ranked UFC flyweight contender Brandon Moreno, the fight we probably should have got at UFC 255.
It’s a good thing it didn’t happen at UFC 255 though, because it’s doubtful that if Alex Perez won his scheduled fight against Moreno, he probably wouldn’t have been able to make the 125 lb limit twice in 21 days.
Both Moreno and Figueiredo had stellar performances on the last pay-per-view event, as Figueiredo finished Alex Perez via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:57 of round one, and Moreno finished (TKO) Brandon Royval at 4:59 of round one.
They both had as good of a performance as they could’ve, and they both fought elite opponents. Perez and Royval are no joke, they’re both about as good as they come.
Now, these two assassins face one another this Saturday, and it couldn’t be more exciting of a match up!
It’s hard to imagine why the UFC ended up releasing Moreno a couple years ago, he’s been a prodigy ever since we knew who he was, when he was just 23-years-old on The Ultimate Fighter 24.
This will be the quickest turnaround for a champion, and the quickest turnaround for a title challenger in UFC history. No one has fought, then fought for the belt 21 days later, champion or not.
Brandon Moreno is no stranger to being champion himself, as the won the WFF Flyweight Championship and defended it three times before joining The Ultimate Fighter cast. Once coming over to the UFC, he rattled off three straight victories over Louis Smolka (guillotine choke), Ryan Benoit (split decision), and Dustin Ortiz (rear naked choke).
He’s still the only man to this day to finish Ortiz, who’s only lost to the very best in the sport, and filling in for Sergio Pettis in order to make his UFC debut early, before the rest of his castmates, to finish Smolka, we knew he was where he belonged.
Moreno lost his next two fights however to Sergio Pettis and Alexandre Pantoja, both via unanimous decision, and was cut from the promotion considering. He just got picked apart and out-techniqued by Pettis, as most do, and was out-classed by Pantoja.
He’d fought Pantoja on The Ultimate Fighter as well, where he was submitted (rear naked choke) at 3:44 of round two. Moreno kept from being finished this time around, and against a more improved Pantoja at that, he just wasn’t good enough to beat him quite yet.
If they’d waited until about now, maybe a few months ago to make the rematch, chances are, he would have won it. Moreno’s still only 27-years-old, a young 27 too. His birthday was just three days ago.
Once being cut, the Mexican talent fought once outside of the UFC, capturing the LFA Flyweight Championship via TKO at 1:54 of round four. Upon return, Moreno had a draw with Askar Askarov, before winning back-to-back unanimous decisions over Kai Kara-France and Jussier Formiga, and then finishing Royval last month.
Deiveson Figueiredo is the new face of 125 lbs, and it’s very exciting. Not long ago, the UFC was considering getting rid of the division considering it doesn’t draw enough eyes. Whether it draws eyes or not, there are all sorts of elite, well rounded fighters competing at that weight.
Nonetheless, that didn’t stop the UFC from making some drastic flyweight cuts.
They got rid of some of the best fighters in the world, to where they had just enough for a top 15. They’ve acquired new flyweight talents since at least, and now we have a super dangerous Brazilian champion.
Demetrious Johnson deserves every bit of our praise, but unfortunately, no one appreciated him, it’s too bad. It seemed Henry Cejudo was saving the division, but after he “saved” it, he just left, bailed on it, and never came back to it.
Johnson is however catching on over in ONE Championship, competing for their 135 lb division, and that’s great to see.
Figueiredo has some people excited about 125 lbs for once, and it’s great to see! He came to the UFC in 2017 with a record of 11-0, and within 14-and-a-half months, he’d racked up a 4-0 record with the promotion.
He then got out-wrestled for three rounds against Jussier Formiga, bringing his record to 15-1, and he’s been perfect since. Figueiredo learned something from that fight, he hasn’t let the same thing happen again.
Just three opponents have tried to take him down since; he submitted (guillotine choke) Tim Elliott on Elliott’s first takedown attempt, he nearly submitted (armbar) Joseph Benavidez in their first fight, and did submit (rear naked choke) him in their second fight after dropping him for the third time, and Alex Perez went for one takedown attempt, where he was immediately submitted (guillotine choke).
It would’ve been hard to submit Formiga, but he’s corrected the one mistake he had, that one flaw. It’s fixed now, or seemingly so.
Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1) vs. Brandon Moreno (18-5-1)
Moreno started out his career with a record of 3-3, it’s crazy knowing he’s gone 15-2-1 in his last 18 fights, and against some of the best fighters in the world. He hasn’t lost since returning to the UFC, will Figueiredo be the first to do it?
Figueiredo is a very imposing flyweight, not many flyweights hit or kick as hard as him. There’s actually just one man that compares to the power he possesses at 125 lbs, and that’s John Lineker, who never consistently made the flyweight limit.
Lineker then moved up to 135 lbs, knocked some opponents out there, and now he’s doing well in ONE Championship’s 145 lb division.
Figueiredo has that same power, but he has more weapons to use on the feet and on the mat, and he’s consistently made the flyweight limit. The only time he missed weight in his entire 21-fight career was earlier this year in his first Benavidez fight.
Moreno has always had very sharp, crisp boxing, and he has some good kicks to go along with it.
He’s kind of like a flyweight version of Chan Sung Jung, in every way too. He also has wicked submissions of his own, he’s an incredibly dangerous, well rounded talent. To be the only man to finish guys like Dustin Ortiz and Brandon Royval, it’s as impressive as it gets.
This is going to be as epic of a title fight as we’ve seen. They may be small, but that doesn’t take away from how great they both are at fighting, and they’re both finishers as well.
Of Figueiredo’s 20 victories, he has nine knockouts, eight submissions, and just three decisions. Of Moreno’s 18 victories, he has three knockouts, ten submissions, and five decisions.
Another compelling thing about this fight is their common opponents, and the fact they’ve each defeated a talent that the other lost to. Figueiredo defeated Pantoja, who defeated Moreno, and Moreno defeated Formiga, who defeated Figueiredo.
The champion stands 5’5” and boasts a 68” reach, while the challenger stands 5’7” with a 70” reach.
It’ll be very interesting seeing who can impose their will on the other, because neither of them are quitters. They don’t get discouraged, even if the fight isn’t going their way. The certainly have the Mexican and Brazilian fighting spirit.
Who do you see walking away from UFC 256 as the UFC Flyweight Champion?
