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Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is ready to start a new title run after coming up short in his latest bout against Brandon Moreno. Though the Brazilian did suffer an eye injury that cost him the belt at UFC 283, ‘Deus da Guerra’ already has another bout booked for July against Manel Kape.
Deiveson Figueiredo’s eye injury was not serious
In an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, Figueiredo explained the details of the eye injury suffered in the last fight against Moreno. Though it was serious enough to warrant a TKO stoppage back in January, Deiveson revealed that once the swelling decreased and he got a few stitches, doctors realized he would not surgery to fully recuperate, which reduced the former champion’s recovery time significantly.
“I had this injury in my eyelid,” Figueiredo said. “I also suffered a cut under my eye. It required three or four stitches, but the punch to the eyelid was what bothered me the most. My eye still hasn’t fully recovered. I’m recovering nicely, though. I’ll be 100% soon. I had a small injury next to my nose, but it wasn’t serious enough to require surgery.”
Deiveson Figueiredo is staying at flyweight
Though Figueiredo has expressed a strong desire to return to the bantamweight division in the near future, the former champion revealed the move has been postponed for at least three more outings. After deliberating the decision with his team, who was against it, the Brazilian decided to listen to his coaches and manager and stay at flyweight for the time being.
Following his TKO win against Adrian Yanez at UFC 289, bantamweight contender Rob Font even called out Figueiredo for his next fight, but the decision to stay at flyweight forced Deus da Guerra to turn down the challenge. While the Brazilian does welcome the callout and still has a strong desire to move up, he will respect his team’s wishes and hopes to make the best of it.
“That fight (against Font) will have to wait. I’ve been talking to my coaches and my manager. We decided that I’m going to have three more fights at flyweight. It’s not the time to leave flyweight yet. I confess that I do want to move up to bantamweight. However, my team did not allow it. I work with my team, I don’t work alone. They want me to stay, so we’re doing more fights.”
Deiveson Figueiredo is set to face Manel Kape in July
In his last outing, Deiveson Figueiredo (21-3-1) ended a series of four straight fights against Brandon Moreno when lost the fight by TKO back in January. Overall, the Brazilian suffered two losses to the ‘Babyface Assassin’, while winning one and fighting to a majority draw in their first encounter.
The last time Figueiredo fought a different opponent took place in November 2020, when he defeated Alex Perez by submission to defend the flyweight belt. In fact, that win put Deiveson on the longest winning streak of his UFC career yet, with five victories in a row, including two against perennial contender Joseph Benavidez and another one over current title challenger Alexandre Pantoja.
Now, Deiveson Figueiredo is expected to take on Manel Kape at UFC 290, on July 8. The Las Vegas, Nevada card is scheduled to feature two title fights. Firstly, a flyweight one between the aforementioned Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event. In the night’s headliner, a belt unification featherweight match between champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim title-holder Yair Rodriguez.
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