Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The flyweight champion is fired up for his title defense against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 255.
UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is getting ready for his first title defense and he has sent his upcoming opponent, Cody Garbrandt, quite the message.
Figueiredo took to Instagram after what appears to be a training session and posted a short video of him saying, “Hey Cody! Motherf**ker! I’m going to take your head off!”
In case that declaration was not enough, Figueiredo also captioned the video with all of the reasons why Garbrandt is mistaken in thinking he is going to take the title from him.
“@cody_nolove you think you are going to take my Belt? I go to sleep dreaming of taking your head off!!!! I wake up thinking of knocking you out. my whole day is dedicated to putting you to sleep!!!!,” wrote Figueiredo.
Figueiredo’s dislike of Garbrandt seemingly started when the former bantamweight champion was given a title opportunity following his stunning knockout win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250. The win was the first for Garbrandt since 2017, and given the manner in which it was done, he was immediately thrust into this opportunity against Figueiredo.
Figueiredo disliked the idea of Garbrandt “skipping the line” over prominent flyweight contenders who would have been better suited for his first title defense. Speaking with Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting, Figueiredo said it was “unfair” to Brandon Moreno and Askar Askarov if Garbrandt was awarded a shot they have been actively working for.
Despite Figueiredo’s feelings, the fight between him and Garbrandt was made nonetheless. Should everything go according to plan, it will serve as the main event of UFC 255, which is set to take place in November in a venue not yet announced.
Earlier this week it was announced that Garbrandt had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing headaches as one of his symptoms, but the fight remains intact as of right now.