Las Vegas, NV — Like everyone else, UFC President Dana White was a big fan of the UFC 256 main event. Like everyone else, he’s looking forward to a rematch between flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, after Saturday night’s title fight ended in a draw.
And it will happen. As to when, White said simply “2021” but couldn’t specify when. For good reason — both men have fought twice in three weeks. They went through five grueling rounds on Saturday. “We got to give these guys some time off, but you absolutely positively do that rematch. That’s another fun fight for us all to look forward to in 2021.”
Asked at the UFC 256 post-fight press conference about the possibility of Cody Garbrandt or T.J. Dillashaw jumping into the mix if Moreno, who hurt his shoulder during the fight, was sidelined, White was dismissive of the notion. “These guys just fought twice in three weeks. They got nothing but time. They can take as much time as they need.”
White also confirmed that flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo was in the hospital the night before the fight. “He didn’t feel good in the middle of the night last night, so he went to the hospital.” It was yet another case of the 2020s, in essence. “After this year, good luck getting me to flinch at anything,” quipped White.
In the end, the fight went on. As the UFC President pointed out, however, “any time a guy goes the hospital, you’re in danger [of losing the bout].” Which could have spelled disaster for a card that had already lost three title fights. “Obviously we gave him, ‘do you want to fight or do you not want to fight? It’s up to you.’ He was obviously cleared medically to fight, but he had the option to fight or not fight, and he wanted to fight.”
As for the challenger, Brandon Moreno, “he is exactly what you think of when you think of real Mexican fighters. He looked damn good tonight.”
A lot of the credit for the resurgent 125lb division for the men goes to matchmaker Mick Maynard, White revealed.
“I’ve got to give it to Mick. Mick went in and restructured and rebuilt that division. And it’s one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC now,” said White. “And tonight we put on a potential Fight of the Year, and a potential greatest fight ever in the division’s history.”
Of course, there’s another fight in the running for Fight of the Year honors. “Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] and Weili [Zhang] was really good too, it was just so long ago that people need to remember how damn good that fight was,” White noted.
Asked about the tweaks Maynard made to the flyweight division in his restructuring, White remained coy. “I think you can figure it out if you look at it. It’s all exciting guys. Guys that are fun to talk to. You’ve got a real Mexican from Mexico, and fights like a real Mexican from Mexico. The list goes on and on.”
Ultimately, the final UFC PPV of 2020 delivered in terms of action. With not a dull fight on the card from opener Chase Hooper on up, it was perhaps representative of the UFC’s ability to overcome the odds in a difficult year globally.
“We had a great year, great fights, business has never been better,” noted White. The UFC, he said, broke records in pretty much ever category in 2020, with the obvious exception of live gate. “2020 was a horrible year in many ways for all of us personally and professionally, but it was a great year for the UFC.”
Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Dana White above.
