Deiveson Figueiredo wants to join a very exclusive club as a two-division champion after another impressive win over Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The former flyweight king, who has now rattled off three straight wins at bantamweight, looked sharp once again and he even became the first person to ever score a knockdown on Vera after dropping the one-time title contender with a punch in the final round. That knockdown virtually sealed the deal for Figueiredo, who got the nod with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 to give him the win.
“Hey Chito, thank you so much today,” Figueiredo said after his latest victory. “Hey Dana [White], I beat this guy tonight. Merab [Dvalishvili], [Sean] O’Malley, I want the title, I want to be next.
Determined to produce a faster start than usual, Vera took the center of the cage after darting out of his corner but after lunging forward for a combination, Figueiredo was able to counter with a well-timed takedown. Vera stayed patient before launching some huge up kicks that allowed him to scramble free and return to his feet.
Vera eventually exploded forward with a jumping knee strike but Figueiredo was quick to grab the legs and score another takedown but he ran out of time before he could do anything with it.
On the restart, Figueiredo wasn’t able to employ his grappling as easily but Vera’s activity still wasn’t enough to deter him from trying. Late in the round, Vera finally started letting his hands go more, which is when he tagged the Brazilian with several stinging shots.
Just when it looked like Vera was really starting to mount some damage, Figueiredo blasted him with a right hand that dropped the former title contender to the canvas. Vera got back to his feet but that knockdown was huge in a back-and-forth fight where both bantamweights were finding success at times.
Figueiredo and Vera continued throwing heavy leather as they each tried for the knockout while trading some huge shots right up to the final horn. While Vera had his moments, he just couldn’t quite catch up to the faster Figueiredo, who also displayed some serious power after delivering that knockdown.
It’s tough to know if that win is enough for Figueiredo to get a title shot but he’s absolutely in that conversation after taking out Vera, who just recently fell to Sean O’Malley in his own bid at becoming UFC bantamweight champion.
