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There was a decisive victor in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 27 on Saturday, but there still is no flyweight champion.
[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] earned the biggest victory of his career when he scored a second-round technical knockout of [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] in a bout that was supposed to crown a new 125-pound champion in Norfolk, Va.
But Figueiredo missed weight Friday, coming in at 127.5, two-and-a-half pounds over the championship weight limit. As such, while Benadivez (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC), who made weight, would have won the title with a victory, Figueiredo earned the victory, but not the belt, as the title remains vacant.
“I am sorry for missing weight, but I told everybody I want to give a big show because you guys deserve a big main event,” Figueiredo (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) said through an interpreter.
The fight was fun while it lasted. The opening round was a wild mix of technical wizardry and flat-out brawling. Figueiredo scored a takedown and transitioned through several submission attempts on the ground. But Benavidez managed to roll through all of them and scramble back to his feet.
From there, a firefight broke out. Benaidez got the better of things throughout the rest of the round, as he landed effective combos and then usually managed to dart out of range before his Brazilian foe could counter.
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It was more of the same in the second round, but Benavidez got a little reckless in his approach. There was an accidental clash of heads during an exchange, which immediately opened a big cut on Benavidez’s forehead. Figueiredo pounced and landed a body shot, followed by a wicked right hand which dropped him. Figueiredo was starting to land bombs on his grounded for before the fight was called off at the 1:54 mark.
It was another hard-luck title fight loss for Benavidez, who dropped a split decision to Dominick Cruz in a WEC bantamweight title fight and a pair of fights to former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
“I feel like this isn’t real right now,”Benavidez said. “A freakin’ nightmare.”
With his 15th career win via finish, Figueiredo has now won three in a row. Benavidez had a three-fight winning streak snapped.
The vacant flyweight title bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 27 main event at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. It streamed on ESPN+.
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Benavidez via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:54
- Felicia Spencer def. Zarah Fairn via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:37
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cutelaba via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:38
- Megan Anderson def. Norma Dumont via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:31
- Grant Dawson def. Darrick Minner via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:38
- Kyler Phillips def. Gabriel Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Brendan Allen def. Tom Breese via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:47
- Marcin Tybura def. Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Luis Pena def. Steve Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jordan Griffin def. TJ Brown via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:38
- Spike Carlyle def. Aalon Cruz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:25
- Sean Brady def. Ismail Naurdiev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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