Deiveson Figueiredo has pulled out his crystal ball and he sees retirement looming for Joseph Benavidez.
This Saturday night (Feb. 29), Figueiredo and Benavidez will share the Octagon for the vacant UFC flyweight championship. The title was vacated after it became clear that Henry Cejudo would stay focused on the bantamweight division. This will be Benavidez’s third UFC title opportunity and Figueiredo’s first. The title bout will headline UFC Norfolk.
Figueiredo Feels He Will Retire Benavidez
Speaking to BJPenn.com, Figueiredo explained why he thinks he’ll be the one to send Benavidez into retirement.
“The rivalry started when he started to lie about me. He went to the press and said I was afraid of him and didn’t want to fight him. Now, he will re-pay the big price of lying. He can’t lie as he had before,” he explained. “I was hurt, that’s why we didn’t fight. Now, the time is here on Saturday I will beat him up. Benavidez will retire after this fight, I really believe that. I hope he can be a UFC commentator, but after Saturday he won’t want to step into the Octagon again because I will break his spirit.”
Figueiredo has only suffered one loss in his pro MMA career. That was to Jussier Formiga back in March 2019 via unanimous decision. Since that bout, Figueiredo has defeated Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott.
As for Benavidez, he’s been considered to be one of the best UFC fighters to never hold gold within the promotion. Obviously he hopes to change that this weekend. Under the UFC banner, Benavidez has only lost to Demetrious Johnson twice and Sergio Pettis. He’s beaten the likes of Henry Cejudo, Jussier Formiga, Dustin Ortiz, and many more.
Who are you leaning towards going into this weekend’s UFC flyweight title bout, Deiveson Figueiredo or Joseph Benavidez?
