Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Deiveson Figueiredo is no longer eligible to win the flyweight title against Joseph Benavidez at UFC Norfolk.
Even if Deiveson Figueiredo had more time to cut the additional weight needed to hit the flyweight mark for his title fight against Joseph Benavidez, it probably would not have mattered in the end.
After coming in 2.5 pounds too heavy for UFC Norfolk’s main event, ‘Deus da Guerra’ was provided one more hour to lose the additional weight, but his manager, Wallid Ismail, said they needed to cut the process short because Figueiredo started to experience abdominal pain midway through the experience.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Ismail explained that Deiveson felt nausea and a pain similar to cramps, which led them to accept he was not going to make weight. However, Ismail still assures fans that the ordeal will not affect his athlete’s performance tomorrow night.
“He has a nutritionist, Dr. Lia (Correia), and he told her how he was feeling, nausea, a problem in his belly, like cramps,” Ismail said, “And they came to a conclusion that he couldn’t continue cutting weight.”
“But I have to make one thing clear, this guy never missed weight, he always made weight for every UFC fight, and now this happened.” Wallid continued. “He will fight stronger than ever tomorrow to show everybody he deserves to be where he is. In his own words, it’s going to be a war tomorrow.”
Because of the mishap, Deiveson agreed to forfeit 30% of his purse to Benavidez and will not be eligible to win the flyweight belt if he beats Joseph tomorrow night, meaning that the title will remain vacant should Deiveson score a win in the UFC Norfolk main event.