Two days after regaining the flyweight belt with a decision win
over Brandon
Moreno at UFC 270, Deiveson
Figueiredo briefly let his thoughts drift to a return home
while dining with teammates at a Denny’s in Arizona, where he
trains at Fight Ready.
The first two-time flyweight champion in UFC history won’t relax
for long, however.
“I can’t wait to have some acai and eat some typical Amazon fish
that I love,” Figueiredo told Sherdog.com. “But as soon as possible
I want to return with my family to Arizona. Besides loving the
city, I was treated like family here. There is no doubt that my
next camp will be here.”
Figueiredo worked with coaches Henry
Cejudo and Eric Albarracin to develop an interesting strategy –
complete with code phrases — for the trilogy with Moreno.
“Our game plan was always to mix [it up] and never leave Moreno in
his comfort zone,” Figueiredo said. “For example, when my corner
screams ‘Taco Burrito, I attack with body shots; ‘Chifrada’ means a
double-leg feint; ‘Joga pra terra’ means ‘take him down.’”
In addition to praising the work of his corner, Figueiredo also
thanked his new nutritionist and the UFC Performance Institute.
“The best thing in my life was to bring Rafael from Brazil. He did
an amazing job and besides not suffering to reach the weight, I
felt stronger in that fight. The PI diet was also unbelievable with
their food,” he said.
Heading into his next title defense, Figueiredo is not lacking for
options. A fourth date with Moreno seems inevitable, but the
Brazilian also has other possibilities like Kai Kara
France, who he expressed an interest in facing during the UFC
270 post-fight press conference, and Alexandre
Pantoja, who called him out for a rematch.
Ultimately, Figueiredo is certain about only one thing for his next
UFC appearance.
“I want to face the opponent who sells more,” he said. “Pantoja is
a great guy. I believe we could have a great rematch, but his
[ability to sell a fight] is no good. Furthermore, UFC Rio in May
is too close. Kara France knocked out a former champion, Cody
Garbrandt. If he beats Askar
Askarov, that fight would make sense, as would a fourth fight
with Moreno, so I’ll let my manager work with the UFC to
decide.”
Figueiredo also welcomed the possibility of a future super fight
with the promotion’s bantamweight champion if the opportunity
arises.
“That would be amazing, I think Petr Yan will
beat Aljamain [Sterling], and I truly believe we could have a great
fight. But now my focus is 100% on resting and recovering my body,”
Figueiredo said.
“I had two injuries (groin and finger) a few weeks before the
fight. Thank God, the groin healed, but I needed to do some serious
therapy to be able to close my hand the week of the fight.”
Going forward, Figueiredo believes the flyweight division will
continue to have a bright future in the UFC.
“[We once thought] that the flyweight division was close to being
finished, and last Saturday our bout was much more exciting than
the heavyweights,” he said. “It’s amazing to see that we have
plenty of great possibilities for great fights in the division.
Flyweight is stronger than ever and I´m happy to keep playing an
important role in that history.”