NORFOLK, Va. – [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] fought in a UFC flyweight title fight Saturday night and although he won, he is not the champion.
Figueiredo (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was disallowed the opportunity to win the title after he missed weight at Friday’s official weigh-in. The Brazilian flyweight missed the championship limit by two-and-a-half pounds, coming in at 127.5. As a result, the title was only Joseph Benavidez was eligible to win the belt at UFC on ESPN+ 27.
After a closely contested Round 1, Figueiredo ended the fight in Round 2. As the round approached the two-minute mark, Figueiredo landed a vicious right hand that dropped the longtime UFC veteran, just seconds after an accidental clash of heads, and that was all she wrote.
Unfazed by the sequence of events which leads to him returning home without the title, Figueiredo doesn’t think his victory was less sweet. According to the Brazilian, the nature of the finish made up for weight debacle.
“I’m not sad at all,” Figueiredo told MMA Junkie post-fight. “I’m very happy. I told you before in the pre-fight interview I was going to knock him out in the second round – and I did. I owe this for the people watching TV. I owe this for the people coming to the arena. Because I didn’t make the weight, I had to compromise and give a big statement for the people.”
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A contributing factor to Figueiredo’s nonchalant attitude may lie in his claim the weight-cut issue was, and will remain, an isolated incident. Cramps aren’t something Figueiredo has encountered before, and this was the first time he ever missed weight.
“I was cutting the weight really smooth,” Figueiredo said. “Everything was fine. In the day of the weigh-in, I feel a cramp. I felt bad in my stomach. My team called my doctor and nutritionist. She told my team, ‘If you really feel that, it’s better to stop.'”
Figueiredo will only make once change going forward. He’s going to bring his nutritionist with him for his next fight. In his eyes, Friday was a hiccup – but no different than anything other great fighters have encountered and overcome.
“This happened for the first time,” Figueiredo said. “I’m not going to do anything different – just one thing. I’m going to bring my nutritionist next time. Besides that, nothing. I always got the weight I was supposed to get. This was the first time. It was really a cramp in my stomach. I really felt bad.
“You guys have to remember many great fighters have had this happen before. Khabib one time did not get the weight. Now, (Yoel) Romero is going to fight for the belt. How many times did he not make the weight? It was the first time (for me).”
For now, Figueiredo considers himself the UFC champion – gold belt or not.
“It doesn’t matter,” Figueiredo said. “Whoever the UFC puts me to fight, I’m going to fight. I just won my belt. The belt is mine. I just don’t hold it. I proved that.”
UFC on ESPN+ 27 took place Saturday at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. It streamed on ESPN+.
Check out Deiveson Figueiredo’s full UFC on ESPN+ 27 post-fight scrum in the video above.
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