Deiveson Figueiredo wants to make a statement in his rematch against Brandon Moreno at UFC 263.
UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is not interested in another five-round battle against Brandon Moreno.
After fighting the Mexican to a majority draw back in December 2020, ‘Deus da Guerra’ intends to have a short fight and finish the rematch quickly when they meet at UFC 263.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Deiveson explained he wants to finish the fight inside 10 minutes, and predicts a knockout win. Aggravated by Moreno’s trash talk about Figueiredo not having power, the Brazilian wants to prove the challenger wrong and silence his words in the Octagon.
“I’m training for a short fight,” Figueiredo said. “I’m going to knock this guy out in the first or second round. I wasn’t 100% in the first fight. He’s been saying I don’t have potential, that my hands aren’t heavy. I’ll show him he’s wrong about what he thinks of me. I’m the kind of guy who can have this wrath awakened inside of me when my opponent starts talking nonsense. I had a meeting with my team and we came up with something inevitable. I want to show I’m the real owner of that belt.”
In their first meeting, both men only had 20 days to prepare for the fight, since Deiveson and Brandon had fought at UFC 255, which happened on November 21. With the match taking place on December 12, Figueiredo says there was not enough time for him to become fully prepared for Moreno, However, after a three-month camp, Daico feels ready to show his opponent his real skills.
“I had three months to prepare for Moreno, which is something I didn’t have in the first fight,” Figueiredo said. “I only got 20 days. You can be sure that I’m going to be 100% and that this guy will last less than two rounds with me. I’m very confident, I trust my work and my team. I’m ready to fight him. His boxing is sharp, Mexicans like to box. I’m good at jiu-jitsu, I’m a blackbelt. But I’m also a striker. I’m more well-rounded than he is. No matter where the fight goes, you better believe it I’ll be ready for the rematch.”
Before the Moreno fight, Figueiredo (20-1-1) was on a five-fight winning streak, with wins over Alexandre Pantoja, Tim Elliott, Joseph Benavidez (twice) and Alex Perez, with all but one victory coming by finish. The 33-year-old’s last and sole loss happened in March 2019, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jussier Formiga.
Now, Figueiredo is expected to rematch Moreno for the flyweight title at UFC 263’s co-main event, on June 12, in Glendale, Arizona. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a middleweight title fight between the champion, Israel Adesanya, and top contender Marvin Vettori.