Deiveson Figueiredo
Wants to fight:[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag]
The callout: “That’s definitely a fight that all the fans would want to see – me against Demetrious Johnson. If the UFC wants to bring him back, I’m going to be very happy. I’m going to knock him out and with a lot of pride. I’m very happy to do that.”
The reality: If you can’t shoot your shot as the champion, then you’re never going to shoot it, so it’s hard to hate on [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag]’s call for a fight with former flyweight king Johnson. But, of course, there’s a pretty major stumbling block between the Brazilian and “Mighty Mouse,” namely the fact that they don’t fight for the same promotion.
Figueiredo proved his legitimacy as champ by making weight, then demolishing Joseph Benavidez, who has been a Top 3-level flyweight in the UFC since the division was created. But after finishing him in such dominant fashion, it will be interesting to see who gets the first crack at the Brazilian’s belt. Askar Askarov has a strong claim after his impressive win over Alexandre Pantoja, while Brandon Moreno is waiting in the wings for his shot at the gold.
Of course, there’s always the possibility of a return for the man who relinquished the title earlier this year. Henry Cejudo has arguably made more noise on social media since he retired than he did when he was fighting, and “The King of Cringe” congratulated Figueiredo for winning the “interim” title. A matchup with Johnson may be out of reach, but perhaps Cejudo could be persuaded to return and give the Brazilian a huge fight in the UFC’s smallest men’s division.
[opinary poll=”figueiredo-vs-johnson_mmajunkie-iesi4u” customer=”mmajunkie”]
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