Following the UFC’s 2021 kick-off on Saturday, the promotion is back on a Wednesday for UFC Fight Island 8. The card is headlined by two welterweight contenders in Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa. Also on the card, loads of quickly rising up-and-comers and a slew of UFC debuts. One of those newcomers is Francisco Figueiredo — who happens to be the older brother of UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo. He will be filling in for Ode Osbourne against Jerome Rivera (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Francisco “Junior Mingau” Figueiredo
5’6″
Bantamweight
31-years-old
Belem, Para, Brazil
Team Figueiredo
11-3-1 (1 NC)
3 KO/TKOs
7 Submissions
How will Figueiredo fare in the UFC:
Francisco isn’t at the level of his brother but is talented in his own right. On the feet, he throws a nice left kick to the body, a long accurate jab, and a front kick to maintain his range. He does throw in single strikes and defensively he keeps his hands low and his head sits on the center line most of the time. Figueiredo has strong grappling, but his wrestling isn’t on the same level. I’m not sure where his grappling is exactly as with limited footage it’s hard to get a handle on, but he’s good at finding submissions in transitions. His cardio looks to be an issue slowing down significantly after round one. This is a signing that likely happened more due to the association with his brother, and his ceiling doesn’t appear to be too high.
- Striking: C+
- Kickboxing: C
- Clinch: C
- Wrestling: C
- Grappling: B-
- Striking Defense: C+
- Takedown Defense: C+
- Cardio: C-
- Biggest Strength: Grappling
- Biggest Weakness: Cardio
How does Figueiredo match up with Rivera:
Both athletes have similar styles, primarily being grapplers who on the feet fight on the outside with long strikes and kicks. They are nearly even on the feet. I’d give a slight advantage to Rivera since he is the more active fighter. Rivera is a good grappler but he’s not as good as he should be. I’m not sure if Figuiredo is a better grappler, but the length of Rivera could be a problem. The pick here is Rivera but it’s not exactly a confident pick.
