This is the UFC Abu Dhabi live blog for Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, the featured bantamweight fight on Saturday evening.
One of the most popular fighters in the bantamweight division, “Chito” is coming off a failed attempt to claim the bantamweight title, losing a one-sided decision to rival Sean O’Malley back in March. Still only 31 years old, Vera is now well outside the title picture, but a win over the former flyweight champion would be a big step towards getting back into the mix at 135 pounds.
Back in 2020, Figueiredo looked like he might be set up to put together an extended run as the flyweight champion, until a prolonged rivalry with Brandon Moreno upset those plans. After losing their fourth fight, Figueiredo opted to try his hand up at bantamweight and things have gone swimmingly so far, with wins over Rob Font and former champion Cody Garbrandt putting “Figgy Smalls” as a dark horse contender in the weight class. A win over a recent title challenger this weekend could vault Figueiredo into his own title shot sometime next year.
Check out the UFC Abu Dhabi featured fight live blog below.
