Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and the current 125lbs champ Brandon Moreno believe a rubber match could be in the cards.
After the smoke cleared at UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 there was a new flyweight champion in town. As the first-ever Mexican-born UFC champ, Moreno will always carry that accolade, but when asked about future opponents, the champion left the door ajar.
From December of 2020 to June of 2021, Moreno’s focus has been on one man primarily, and that’s Deiveson Figueiredo. Following their majority-draw conclusion in their first bout that was hailed fight of the year, Moreno understands that fans will likely want to see a third fight with “Deus da Guerra” but isn’t counting out some of the other contenders in his division.
“I don’t know, man. I have some names. Askar Askarov is doing very well; Cody Garbrandt, he wanted to come to the division, but he lost his last fight against Rob Font, so I don’t know,” Moreno said at the post-fight conference. The trilogy against Figueiredo could be a possibility, but this fight wasn’t even close, you know? So I don’t know, man. I just want to go to my house, put (down) my cell phone, and enjoy my family and a lot of bad food right now.”
In Moreno’s second meeting with the sitting champion, he dethroned Figueiredo in the third round via rear-naked choke. Ever since the finish at UFC 263, the former champion has been calling for the trilogy match after citing weight-cutting issues as the primary reason he lost his world title.
“It really was the weight cut,” said Figueiredo. “I didn’t have a healthy weight cut, it was really hard to beat the weight. I left the hotel (for the arena) feeling very bad. I knew it wasn’t my day, but I gave it into God’s hands, and going to the Octagon I said, ‘Lord, your will be done.’
While there are other options for the newly minted champion at 125lbs, certainly there is a lot of intrigue to see a trilogy bout between the former champion Figueiredo. Moreno knows the second fight was quick and not close but won’t discount the possibility of a third match coming down the barrel in due time.
