During Deiveson Figueiredo’s short reign as flyweight champion, it appeared that Cody Garbrandt was a potential challenger for his 125lb crown.
After watching ‘No Love’ make an unsuccessful flyweight debut at UFC 269, Figueiredo has suggested Garbrandt never returns to the division while also ruling out facing the former bantamweight champion in the future.
During a recent edition of MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca, Figueiredo gave his thoughts on Garbrandt’s first-round TKO loss to Kai Kara-France.
“I really expected more,” Figueiredo said of Garbrandt’s flyweight debut. “It became clear that this division is not for him. He has to stay in his weight class. It’s clear he gets weaker, physically speaking, going down in weight. He’s totally worn out. He should stay [at bantamweight] or move up to 145. This division is not for him.”
Deiveson Figueiredo Says Cody Garbrandt Is Too Young To Retire
Garbrandt has won just one fight since 2016 and has been stopped in all but one of his five defeats during that time. It’s the type of form that would make most former champs consider retirement, however, Garbrandt is only 30 years old and still has time to turn things around.
After witnessing Garbrandt’s skid, Figueiredo insists he will no longer entertain the idea of possibly fighting him in the future as ‘No Love is “totally in decline.”
“Since he’s a boxer and likes boxing, it would be good for him to box, to make that transition,” Figueiredo added. “He’s too young to think about retirement. He’s still got wood left to burn. In MMA [too], but flyweight is not for him. That message was very clear.”
Figueiredo will attempt to regain the flyweight title at UFC 270 tonight when he takes on Brandon Moreno for the third time in as many years. ‘The Baby Assassin’ scored a third-round submission victory over Figueiredo the last time they met.
Do you think we’ll ever see Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt?