Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo squared off in a Flyweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Jan. 21, 2023) at UFC 283 from inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two men both brought belts into this co-main event match up, but only one man could leave the cage strapped with the undisputed title.
Moreno opened the fight with an immediate double leg takedown, ducking under a punch to plant Figueiredo on his back. To his credit, Figueiredo managed to hold onto a guillotine for about a minute then use the hold to pop back to his feet. Moreno was looking for his overhand, and one landed a couple minutes into the fight.
Another big right scored for the Mexican athlete, as well as a couple shots to the mid-section. Figueiredo answered with a lead right of his own, then both fighters landed heat in an exchange. Figueiredo landed a low kick and attempted a takedown, but Moreno denied him and landed an elbow. Moreno scored a second double leg with a short amount of time remaining, but Figureiredo was able to attack a heel hook before the end of the round.
As expected, the quadrilogy match was competitive to start.
When Moreno opened the second with a heavy body kick, Figureido snatched up his leg and landed in top position. Moreno kicked his opponent back and came up on a single leg quickly, returning the duo to the stand up just a minute into the round. “The Assassin Baby” continued his high-volume assault, throwing a lot of shots and connecting on a decent percentage of them.
At about the midway point of the round, the two traded takedown attempts. After surviving a tight guillotine attempt, Moreno freed his head and maintained top position. The Mexican fighter maintained good top pressure, but he wasn’t able to land anything particularly devastating from within the closed guard.
Figueiredo stalked to start the third, attacking the body. He was working in single shots, however, and Moreno continued to land well on the end of exchanges. Then, a big left hook landed hard for the Mexican, stunning Figueiredo and resulting in top position for Moreno. Working within the guard, Moreno landed a few heavy punches and elbows, letting loose a stream of offense whenever he could work free from the Brazilian’s grasp.
Between rounds, the doctor examined Figueiredo’s eye, which was rapidly closing from the connection with Moreno’s left hook thumb knuckle. He deemed the Brazilian unable to continue, thus ending this rivalry and naming Moreno the victor.
Was it the most thrilling fight or dramatic outcome? Perhaps not. Still, Moreno proved himself the better man pretty consistently across the three full rounds, even if Figueiredo still showed off the dangerous traits that made him champion.
It’s time for the division to move on, and Brandon Moreno is the king … for now!
Result:
For complete UFC 283: “Hill vs. Teixeira” results and play-by-play, click HERE!