Chito Vera and former UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo met on the main card of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday, an afternoon card for western fans airing live on broadcast network ABC.
Vera was fresh off a loss against Sean O’Malley at UFC 299, a week that had seen him hit the highest of highs, a small army of Spanish-language media flooding Miami just for him, and the lowest of lows, underachieving in his shot at gold.
Figueriedo, meanwhile, had found a new lease on his fighting life as a 135’er.
Vera vs. Figueiredo opened up with a number of low kicks, with Vera firing several before Deiveson changed levels and charged into a takedown, landing it. That gave the Brazilian some time on top, though he couldn’t find a path to victory and nearly ate an upkick when he disengaged a few minutes later.
Back on the feet, 90 seconds or so still on the clock, Figueiredo chopped at Vera’s lead leg, then circled on the outside, forcing Chito to chase. With all of 30 seconds remaining, Figueiredo landed a second takedown, landing in half guard and finishing the round standing over Vera, looking to land an axe kick.
Figueiredo again fired a low kick to open round two. Vera nearly threw himself off-balance with a kick up top, but Deiveson couldn’t capitalize. Figueiredo added some stance switches as the pair went back-and-forth, not a takedown in sight through the opening three minutes.
Vera kept the fight standing in the second, quite possibly drawing even with the ex-champ.
With Figueiredo unable to take Vera down in the second, things looked rather interesting in the third. And they were – a short time in, Vera dug at Figueiredo with a body shot, but Deiveson turned around and dropped Vera! Chito was quickly back up, and continued to work the body, but a statement had been made by the former 125’er, whose power had clearly following him to the bantamweight division.
Two minutes still on the clock, the pair traded leg kicks. The knockdown was now looming large, with the third round very possibly being the deciding factor in the fight. Both men knew just that, and Vera pressed forward, only to be answered by a Figueiredo takedown attempt. Vera shook it off, but it had stalled his progress. Off to the judges they went, with Deiveson Figueiredo taking the decision.
Official Result: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Chito Vera by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
