Deiveson Figueiredo is staying put.
The former UFC flyweight champion, who routinely struggled to hit the 125-pound limit, was expected to move up to the bantamweight division after completing his trilogy against Brandon Moreno in the UFC 283 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event in Brazil.
And No. 6-ranked contender Rob Font was ready to greet him.
“I would love to do ‘Figgy’ vs. Font, I’d love to introduce him to the 135 division,” Font said during the UFC 287 post-fight press conference. “I think that’d be a fun fight. I think I like fighting big names. I definitely don’t want to fight backward, but I think me and him could definitely be a great fight. He’s a former champ. He’s exciting. I know he’s going to talk a lot of sh*t. I think it’d be a great, entertaining type of fight, and I think I need another big name like that.”
Thanks, but no thanks, according to the Brazilian.
“That will not happen for now,” Figueiredo (21-3-1) told Sherdog.com. “After talking to my manager, Urijah Faber, and my trainer, I’ve decided to stay in flyweight division. I still have a story to write there. I want to have my three next fights at flyweight.”
Figueiredo, 35, recently overhauled his training and representation, parting ways with longtime manager Wallid Ismail (in the ugliest way possible) in favor of former UFC bantamweight and Team Alpha Male head cheese Uriah Faber.
First order of business? Fix his “embarrassing” fight purse.