Deiveson
Figueiredo believes his UFC
300 victory over Cody
Garbrandt warrants a title shot next.
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After going toe-to-toe in a close first round, Figueiredo dominated
Garbrandt on the ground en route to a rear-naked choke submission
in Round 2. Making his case for a title shot next, the 36-year-old
noted that he handed the former bantamweight champ the first
submission loss of his professional career.
“Cody, he’s a former champion, a magnificent guy, you know, he’s a
really big name here,” Figueiredo said during a post-fight media scrum (via YouTube
translation). “And I’ve never seen anyone submit Cody
Garbrandt, and today I came and dominated the fight against him
and I submitted him. And I really hope to have this opportunity to
fight for the belt.”
While Figueiredo called for a title shot next, No.1 contender
Merab
Dvalishvili is expected to get his long overdue title shot
against Sean
O’Malley sometime later this year. The Brazilian doesn’t appear
to have a preference between those two.
“I’m a 100% ready to fight again, be it Sean O’Malley, be it Merab
[Dvalishvili], whoever it is, whatever Dana decide I’m gonna be
in,” Figueiredo said.
“Deus da Geurra” also shot down a suggested matchup against former
champ Petr
Yan, who recently returned to the win column with a decision
win over Yadong Song
after a three-fight losing streak against elite competition.
Figueiredo also doubled down on his claims of being robbed in his
controversial doctor stoppage loss against Brandon
Moreno in their quadrilogy clash at UFC 283 in January
2023.
“No, I’m former champion in another division,” he said. “I’m coming
up and winning in this division, and I want to fight for the
championship. The fight against Moreno, there was a mistake in my
view, so I think I deserve to fight for the championship next.”