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Cody Garbrandt got his groove back in 2023. The former bantamweight champion has had a rough go of things ever since beating Dominick Cruz for UFC gold at UFC 207. In the five years that followed, ‘No Love’ went just 1-5 with four knockout losses; a former champion in what should be his prime, struggling to stay off the canvas.
After injury woes sidelined him for all of 2022, however, the Team Alpha Male talent returned to the Octagon last year to pick up back to back victories for the first time since 2016. After his latest win—a first round KO over Brian Kelleher—Garbrandt had a bold call-out at the ready: a fight with former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt booked for UFC 300
Long known as one of the biggest, hardest hitting fighters in the flyweight division, Deiveson Figueiredo made the jump up to 135 lbs this past December after a 3-year run of title fights, including a quadrilogy of bouts against Brandon Moreno. With a draw, a win, and two losses over those bouts and a body that was having increasing trouble making the drop all the way to 125, Figueiredo made the decision to try his luck in a new weight class, with a big splash in his debut—taking a dominant decision over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan.
As a result, it looks like Garbrandt is all set to get his wish, with Brazilian MMA site AG Fight reporting that he and Figueiredo have been booked to meet at UFC 300. Sources close to the fighters have told the outlet that both fighters have agreed on the bout, although it has yet to be officially announced by the UFC.
Figueiredo and Garbrandt have some history
This isn’t the first time that Cody Garbrandt and Deiveson Figueiredo have looked to fight one another. Back in 2020, when Garbrandt was staring down an ill advised drop to the flyweight division and the Brazilian was still holding gold, there was a lot of talk about a potential title shot for the American.
“We want him to prove he can make 125 pounds and fight someone in my weight class,” Figueiredo said at the time. “After that, if he wins, he can come fight me. But we don’t agree with him coming down and skipping the line and going straight for the belt against me. He needs to prove he can make 125 and fight someone. It would be unfair if the UFC puts him straight for the belt. I think the UFC has to respect the others that worked hard for a title shot.”
Eventually, Garbrandt did give flyweight a spin, taking a single fight against Kai Kara-France in 2021, resulting in yet another KO loss. Meanwhile, Figueiredo lost and then regained his title against Brandon Moreno, before dropping the belt for the second (and seemingly final) time at UFC 283 last January.
UFC 300 is set to take place on April 13th in Las Vegas, NV. No headlining bout has been announced for the card, as of yet, however it is expected to play host to a women’s strawweight title bout between champion Zhang Weili and challenger Yan Xiaonan. A lightweight top contender’s bout between former champion Charles Oliveira and rising talent Arman Tsarukyan has also been announced for the event.