UFC fighters are often appreciated for their comeback stories but if the same praise was to be given to a weight class, then the honor would probably go to the Flyweight division. A redemption arc that started with Henry Cejudo beating Demetrious Johnson, will now see Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo fight for the fourth time in UFC 283.
History of the Figueiredo vs Moreno rivalry
Going back, Demetrious Johnson almost single-handedly dominated the flyweight division up until the point he fought Henry Cejudo. ‘Mighty Mouse’s previous opponents put on such poor fights that people began to lose interest in the division. At one point, even Dana White was losing interest in continuing the division.
Henry held the crown for a really short time and then moved on to Bantamweight. After a short break, Deiveson Figueiredo captured the title by defeating his former rival Joseph Benavidez for the second time. After his next title defense against Alex Perez, Deiveson had his eyes set on an emerging prospect.
In his post-fight interview, Figueiredo called out Brandon Moreno who was slowly climbing the ranks of the flyweight division. UFC 256 finally saw the fighters finally go at it and what a show they delivered! The fight went toe-to-toe and the judges scored the fight a draw leaving no definite winner.
Of course, a second fight was already booked as the division needed a clear winner. This time Figueiredo wasn’t so sportsmanlike as he insulted his rival in many ways even calling him a ‘crybaby.’ But Moreno showed his class inside the octagon and picked up the win in a rather dominant fashion.
This time Alexandre ‘The Cannibal’ Pantoja was set for a title fight but he had to step back owing to injuries. Result? Well, a 3rd fight was booked between the rivals who already fought twice. The 3rd fight was much more closely as Brandon landed more significant shots but Deiveson picked up the win with his knockdown hits.
Brandon earned his way back to the title shot by defeating Kai Kara France and now for the first time in UFC, two challengers will face each other for the fourth time to hopefully pick a clear winner in UFC 283.
