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After former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion, Henry Cejudo, was stripped of his Flyweight title, it opened the door for two worth contenders to fight for the strap.
One of the obvious choices was Joseph Benavidez, winner of three straight and nine of 10 overall. The other slot went to Deiveson Figueiredo, a man who only has one loss in his entire mixed martial arts (MMA) career, and has gone 6-1 inside the Octagon. The two men will collide in the main event of Saturday’s (Feb. 29) UFC Fight Night 169 event in Norfolk, Virginia, which streams exclusively on ESPN+.
Before then, let’s take a trip back in time to see Deiveson’s most recent victory against Tim Elliott. The two men threw down at UFC Fight Night 161 in Tampa, Florida. After a back-and-forth couple of minutes on the feet, Elliott shot in for a takedown, which was stuffed and turned into a guillotine choke for Figueiredo. Five seconds later, Elliott was tapping for dear life.
As a result of the impressive submission, it was easy to see why UFC opted to pit Figueiredo up against Benavidez for the vacant 125-pound strap. Now one of those two men will get to taste UFC gold for the first time.
To see the entire UFC Fight Night 169: “Benavidez vs Figueirdo” fight card click here.