The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is stacking the deck for its
return to Abu Dhabi this summer.
Per Ag.
Fight on Thursday, Marlon Vera
(23-9-1) and Deiveson
Figueiredo (23-3-1) have agreed to a bantamweight clash at
UFC on ABC 7. The report noted that the fighters have not
officially signed their contracts, but verbal agreements are in
place. Should this matchup indeed come together, it will be held at
the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Aug. 3. The
pairing has since been confirmed by Vera on his
Instagram Stories as well as
other outlets. This joins other 135-pound contest Cory
Sandhagen vs. Umar
Nurmagomedov as the only fights currently booked for the
card.
In his last time out, Vera fell short vying for the bantamweight
throne against Sean
O’Malley. Atop UFC 299, the striker was outstruck by the champ,
handing “Chito” his second loss in three outings. Vera earned a
crack at gold off a single victory when he overcame Pedro
Munhoz via decision in 2023. Additionally, the Ecuadorian had
history with O’Malley, as he had beaten “Sugar Sean” in 2020 with
leg kicks and follow-up ground-and-pound.
Former flyweight kingpin Figueiredo moved up in weight in late 2023
and has not looked back. Shortly before his 36th birthday,
Figueiredo handled Rob Font to
introduce himself to the 135-pound category. He returned to the
cage a little over five months later to open UFC 300 and tapped
Cody
Garbrandt with a rear-naked choke to stamp himself a contender
at this new weight. The two-time 125-pound beltholder first picked
it up in 2020 when he put Joseph
Benavidez to sleep with a choke, and he won it back against
Brandon
Moreno two years later in the midst of their tetralogy title
tilts.