Having earned a Fight of the Night bonus in his win against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 240, Deiveson Figueiredo wants Joseph Benavidez fight, thinks Henry Cejudo is scared.
Edmonton, AB — After a bonus-worthy performance at UFC 240 on Saturday, Deiveson Figueiredo has plenty to be happy about. An extra $50,000 off a Fight of the Night bonus. Getting back in the win column. And reminding fans how entertaining the flyweight division can be.
So there was no surprise when Figueiredo, speaking through manager/translator Wallid Ismail, said that he was “very happy,” despite icing his hand, post fight. The flyweight was speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Rogers Place in Edmonton, site of the PPV event. “If it was a tournament, he could fight again. It’s not a big deal, his hand,” reporters were told about the injury.
It was certainly an action-packed fight, and to hear him tell it, it was like a shark reacting to blood in the water. “When he sees opponent with blood, he wants to kill the guy. He wants a knockout or submission. Because he come here tonight to give a show for the Canadian people. To show this category is great category, that the flyweight division is a great category.”
That’s a sentiment no doubt held by his fellow flyweight fighters. The division was recently given a stay of execution by Dana White, but with so many fighters released or moving up, many are likely keeping their fingers crossed.
Giving credit where credit is due, Ismail explains Figueiredo’s belief that “[Henry] Cejudo proved this category is very important. He went up, beat the champion, and he’s going to come back. But he wants to fight against Benavidez. He wants to fight Benavidez, but Benavidez is going to fight Cejudo, he want to fight who wins this fight. Because this category is a very important category.”
Technically, Cejudo defeated T.J. Dillashaw at flyweight, then fought Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title. But that is neither here nor there. The point Figueiredo and his manager continued to hammer home was the importance of the flyweight division. And the importance of keeping it moving.
Something he sees Cejudo holding up, by calling out fighters like Urijah Faber. “He thinks Cejudo, he is scared, because he sees the new guys coming up, [who] put on a great show. And he starts to call on other people to lose the focus on Deiveson. Because Deiveson is focused on him. This you can be sure about that.”
Figueiredo’s manager also suggested that he was being overlooked because he lacked English skills. “This is very important, the fighters need to understand that. The part outside of the cage is very important. Because Deiveson’s going to be the champion, he needs to communicate with the fans. He knows that. He’s going to hire an English teacher right now.”
For more from Deiveson Figueiredo, watch the full UFC 240 post-fight press scrum above!
