UFC 270: Deiveson Figueiredo Wants to Be First to Knock Out Brandon Moreno

Anaheim, CA — If there’s one thing Deiveson Figueiredo wanted to convey during Wednesday’s UFC 270 media day, it was that he was not focused ahead of his rematch with Brandon Moreno last time out.

Ahead of the pair’s third consecutive fight, Figueiredo (20-2-1), this time the challenger after Moreno submitted him in their second meeting, assured anyone listening that things were much different this time around.

“I feel 100%. I feel ready for this fight. I’m gonna show everybody I’m much better than Brandon Moreno,” Figueiredo said, with manager Walid Ismail translating for the ex-flyweight champ. “I’m going to show everybody that I was not focused in the last fight, and I’m going to show this on Saturday, when I get my belt back.”

Figueiredo first fought Moreno at UFC 256 in 2020; the fight ended in a draw, thanks in part to the Brazilian having a point deducted due to a groin strike. The second fight came the following year, this time, the result was definitive: Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the third round.

On Wednesday, the current champ stated that he expected Figueiredo to look like a combination of the fighters he saw in those first two fights.

“You know, it’s going to be different now,” Figueiredo promised, asked for his thoughts on Moreno’s statement. Far away from family, he’s been busy “training hard at Fight Ready with Eric Albarracin, with Henry Cejudo,” and as a result, the “God of War” says that he’s “going to show another Deiveson Figueiredo.”

Figueiredo also wants to prove just how dangerous he is. He wants to be “the first guy to knock out Brandon Moreno,” after already becoming the first man to finish Joseph Benavidez on the feet. And he’s given up a lot to get his belt back, Figueiredo reiterated — far from everything he loves: his business, his family, his friends, all to get his belt back. Which will happen on Saturday, added Figuredo, saying he was “sure about that.”

Deiveson Figueiredo challenges Brandon Moreno for flyweight gold in the co-main event of UFC 270 on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. More coverage from Wednesday’s media day can be found below.