Former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champ
Deiveson
Figueiredo is confidently taking the next steps to further his
career.
Figueiredo (21-3-1) spoke to Sherdog on Friday about his plans for
the future and what will differ following his expected relocation
to 135 pounds. The former flyweight king decided that wholesale
changes to his life, ranging from getting a new manager to
switching camps. “Daico” parted ways with Wallid
Ismail in 2022, and his subsequent arrangement with Urijah Faber
was not working out the way he expected. According to Figueiredo,
the language barrier played a factor.
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“…I don’t speak English, [and] I was having a hard time
communicating with Urijah
Faber, so I decided to start to work with Alex Davis,”
Figueiredo told Sherdog. “Urijah Faber
is a great person and friend, and he totally understood my
point.”
Figueiredo was recently expected to face Manel Kape
at flyweight, but when that fell through, the 35-year-old committed
to moving up in weight after all. While the fight has not yet been
agreed upon by both parties and neither has signed a contract,
Figueiredo expects he will be fighting Dominick
Cruz in October. The plan is for Figueiredo to shift up to
bantamweight at UFC 294
in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“I must face Dominick in Abu Dhabi, [in] October, but it’s not
signed yet,” Figueiredo said flatly.
Training in the U.S. but also putting time in at various camps in
his native country of Brazil, the ex-champ knew it was hard on his
family with all this travel and time away. Recently, his wife and
son received their visa for the U.S., and his dream of relocating
stateside permanently is now in motion. The specific team he will
join, however, is still up in the air.
“I’m going to Florida first,” the Brazilian explained. “’Durinho’
[Gilbert
Burns] will welcome me there in Kill Cliff. If it works, I’ll
pack my bags and go, but my manager Alex Davis is also trying to
convince me to go to Vegas where he lives. I’ll decide after I go
to both places personally.”
With his sights fairly firmly set on his new division and the
challenges that he will face, there is a sliver of hope for those
that want to see him stay at flyweight. In particular, one fight
would lure him back to 125 pounds: former foe and current champion
Alexandre
Pantoja.
“I defeated Pantoja back in 2019, [so] if [the] UFC ask[ed] me to
stay [at] flyweight to dispute the title with him before facing
Dominick, it would be a pleasure to postpone my plans [at]
bantamweight to give him that revenge and get my belt back. Because
MMA is about matchups, and my game simply doesn’t match up with
Pantoja’s,” Figueiredo concluded.