Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez main evented the UFC Fight Island 2 event earlier tonight from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The pair competed for the vacant 125-pound championship left behind by Henry Cejudo. Back in February, Figueiredo actually finished Benavidez in a fight that was supposed to crown the flyweight champion. However, Figueiredo missed weight and was ineligible to win the title. As it so happened, Figueiredo ended up finishing Benavidez in the contest shortly after a headbutt. Ensuring at least some controversy surrounded the finish.
Saturday night, Figueiredo’s power proved to be too much for Benavidez to handle, as he was dropped three times in the first round. Benavidez was in trouble early with three deep rear-naked choke attempts. Somehow, Benavidez escaped from all three. However, as the round came to a close, Figueiredo again hurt Benavidez with his power, bloodying him on the mat with ground-and-pound, before locking in an even deeper rear-naked choke. Benavidez refused to tap out, and instead went unconscious.
Now, Figueiredo is the new king of the UFC’s 125-pound division. A division that just over a year ago seemed to be on life support has managed to put on a couple of extremely exciting title fights already this year.
Check out how the pros reacted to the lopsided performance from Figueiredo here below:
😢😢
— James Vick (@JamesVickMMA) July 19, 2020
Wow Figiueredo crushed him!!! Damn
— Funky (@Benaskren) July 19, 2020
Wtf that ref waiting for ?? 😡😡
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) July 19, 2020
Pure savagery from Figueiredo from start to finish! We officially have a new Flyweight Champ 👏🏻👏🏻
Hard to see Joe B go down like that 🥺 #UFCFightIsland2
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) July 19, 2020
Ahh man. Gutted Joey B. Ref gave him his chances to stay in the fight as well. #UFCFightIsland2 #TheWeeklyScraps
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 19, 2020
Brutal finish by Figueiredo #UFCFightIsland
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) July 19, 2020
Omg!!!!! Holy $h$$ ! Man, Joe just wouldn’t give up. Joe 😢 #UFCFightIsland2
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) July 19, 2020
This guy belongs in the bantam weight division @ufc wow he’s amazing fighter 💪🤝💯
— Manny Gamburyan (@MannyGamburyan) July 19, 2020
Fuck. #UFCFightIsland2
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) July 19, 2020
Dang, that was hard to watch. ☹️ Figueiredo was on point tonight, wow! Just too many fundamental mistakes on the feet from Joe that we’re unfortunately never rectified.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) July 19, 2020
Man, feel terrible for Joe B
— Funky (@Benaskren) July 19, 2020
Fegueiredo is the real deal! #UFCFightIsland2
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) July 19, 2020
Figueiredo wrecks Cejudo easy 👀
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) July 19, 2020
Wow! @Daico_Deiveson with the hot hands to the choke out. So intent on the finish. Well done. #UFCFightIsland2
— Alpha Cat Zingano (@CatZingano) July 19, 2020
Jesus, what a tough bastard Benividez is, Figueiredo is a monster. #UFCFightIsland2
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) July 19, 2020
#AndNew @Daico_Deiveson wow what a performance 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 #UFCFightIsland2
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) July 19, 2020
Congrats 🍾 to the second interim UFC champ this week @deivesonfigueiredo #UFCFightIsland2
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) July 19, 2020
Your still a legend joe b
— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) July 19, 2020
Damn gutted for joe, really would have like to see him do it. @ufc
— Ray Borg (@tazmexufc) July 19, 2020
Impressive from figueiredo. I mean, wow. So sad for Benavidez though. #UFCFightIsland2
— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) July 19, 2020
I’ve always considered @JoeJitsu to be a mentor of mine ever since the TUF days. Very thoughtful man that always shares his knowledge and gives sound advice. Keep your head up Joe, we love you. #UFCFightIsland2
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) July 19, 2020
