Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
The UFC Fight Night 169 official weighs ins (results HERE) took a turn for the worse earlier today (Fri., Feb. 28, 2020) when Deiveson Figueiredo came in 2.5 pounds over the limit for his flyweight title fight with Joseph Benavidez.
As a result of the botched weight cut, Figueiredo is now ineligible to win the vacant 125-pound crown and must relinquish 30 percent of his purse to Benavidez, who can still capture the belt with a win.
Obviously, this is crushing news for UFC Fight Night 169’s main event and the flyweight division as a whole. Current champion Henry Cejudo is set to relinquish the title on Saturday and clear way for a new champion. But if Figueiredo happens to defeat Benavidez in their main event clash then the division, which is already on the UFC chopping block, will still have a vacant title.
Figueiredo, who has never had this happen before in his UFC career, was advised by doctors to stop cutting weight after experiencing “cramps.” The Brazilian’s manager, Wallid Ismail, released a statement to BJPenn.com offering details on Figueiredo’s final cut and an official apology to all of those involved.
“Stuff happens. He described to his doctor what he was feeling and his doctor told him to be careful and not cut any more weight. He felt a bad cramp and was nauseous. It was that. His doctor advised him to stop the weight cut,” said Ismail. “Now, he knows he needs to give the fans a great show for this fight. He promised the fans a big fight and this is what he is going to do tomorrow. There will be blood and it still will be a war. He wants to say thank you to Benavidez for still taking the fight and sorry to the fans and to the UFC for missing weight. It was a medical issue. He’s never missed weight in his entire career before this and he apologizes.”
Only time will tell if Figueiredo can forget about his failed weight cut and still perform in the biggest fight of his career. Even though he may not be eligible to win the title this time around a win over Benavidez will ensure the Brazilian contender another shot at UFC gold in the very near future.
UFC Fight Night 169 will go down tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 29, 2020) live on ESPN+ from inside Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, and also feature a co-main event clash between women’s featherweight contenders Felicia Spencer and Zarah Fairn dos Santos.