Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo suffered more than a loss at UFC Des Moines.
Deiveson Figueiredo‘s bid to get back into the bantamweight title mix at UFC Des Moines fell short against Cory Sandhagen. After a back-and-forth first round, in which Figueiredo had Sandhagen in some brief trouble on the ground, Sandhagen turned the tide in Round 2.
After achieving a dominant position on the ground, Sandhagen landed brutal ground-and-pound shots before Figueiredo tapped to strikes due to an apparent leg injury in the exchanges. His team had to carry Figueiredo out of the cage after the loss, signaling a potential serious injury that might postpone his bantamweight contention indefinitely.
While Figueiredo’s status remains uncertain, the former flyweight titleholder remains in good spirits despite the setback at UFC Des Moines.
Deiveson Figueiredo breaks social media silence after UFC Des Moines injury
For the first time in Figueiredo’s career, he’s lost back-to-back fights, after a defeat to former bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC Macau last year. Figueiredo won his first three bantamweight outings after making the full-time move from flyweight following a tetralogy loss to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283.
After back-to-back setbacks, Figueiredo is in a tough spot in the bantamweight division mix. But as he begins to recover from his unspecified leg injury, Figueiredo provided an encouraging update on what’s next for his career.
In a recent Instagram post, Figueiredo addressed his followers after UFC Des Moines.
“The result is not always what we want, but the fight goes on,” Figueiredo said.
“I warmly thank God, my family, my team and all of you who support, support and believe in me.
“We’re going back stronger. I am a warrior and this is just another chapter of my story!”
Figueiredo is looking to reclaim the form that made him one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world during his multiple flyweight title stints. He earned recent wins over Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera to catapult into the bantamweight title picture.
Before making the full-time move to bantamweight, and three winless outings against Moreno, Figueiredo ran through some of the top UFC flyweights. He earned earlier wins over Alexandre Pantoja, Tim Elliott, and Joseph Benavidez to signal a new era in the 125 lb division.
UFC Des Moines star addresses retirement talk after lopsided defeat
Figueiredo wasn’t the only veteran star to suffer a disappointing setback at UFC Des Moines. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who returned at UFC Des Moines after a 17-month hiatus, lost to Yana Santos by unanimous decision on the prelims.
Amidst retirement speculation, Tate didn’t do much to quell questions over her fighting future, as she issued a vague post-fight statement after UFC Des Moines. As of this writing, it’s uncertain if Tate will fight on or will opt to hang up the gloves.
UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez announced her retirement at UFC Des Moines after a TKO loss to Gillian Robertson. Rodriguez defeated the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Yan Xiaonan, and Michelle Waterson-Gomez during his UFC career.
We’ll continue to update you on Figueiredo and Tate’s statuses as new information surfaces.