It’s no secret that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, is trying to get paid.
Currently sidelined with some hand injuries, Figueiredo has been staying active on the business side of his career. Recently parting ways with longtime manager, Wallid Ismail, the champion now finds himself under the watch of former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Featherweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber.
Since winning back his title in Jan. 2022 against Brandon Moreno (watch highlights), Figureido has noted he’d love to start earning million-dollar paydays — especially if for a fourth Moreno encounter. While he knows it may not be in the cards for his next time out, Figueiredo does want to see some improvements.
“I’ve changed managers looking for someone that presents me great numbers in the UFC,” Figueiredo told MMA Fighting. “Faber has contacts in the company, is close to [UFC President] Dana [White], is American and lives there, knows the numbers and how it works, and I’m sure he’ll fight hard for me there.
“In a private conversation with him, he told me my numbers were too low,” he continued. “I knew that already, that my numbers don’t exist. Guys fighting for the belt get paid around $500,000, and defending [champions] get around $600,000, and my numbers would never go over $200,000. This last fight, I got paid [$100,000 to show and $100,000 to win] or [$100,000 to show, $50,000 to win], I don’t know. Totally embarrassing. I know it’s low. It was on desperate to get the title fight. I know it’s a good purse for someone challenging for the belt.”
While Figueiredo continues to heal and recover from his injuries, an interim title will come into place as the aforementioned Moreno rematches Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 on July 30, 2022. Threatening to move up to Bantamweight due to the creation of an interim title, it remains to be seen how serious Figueiredo is about such an idea. What is for sure, however, is his lack of interest in facing Moreno for a fourth time.
“Brandon Moreno doesn’t interest me, he’s a racist, so he better stay quiet because racists deserve no attention,” Figueiredo said. “I won’t even talk about him. He doesn’t exist to me. And Manel Kape is down there [in the rankings], he still has to work to get where I’m at. And if they don’t like money, I’m sorry, but I do, and I’ll fight to get a good purse.”