Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez Staff Predictions

In the UFC 255 Deiveson Figueiredo is set to make his first flyweight title defence against Alex Perez who is the first-ever Contender Series fighter to compete for UFC gold. Who’ll emerge as the 125lb champion? Let’s see what the LowKickMMA staff think…

Jordan Ellis: It’s hard to pick against Deiveson Figueiredo in this one. The Brazilian looked flawless when picking up the title and seems to be going from strength to strength. For me, this opportunity has come just a little too early for Alex Perez who I expect to be outgunned for as long as this fight lasts.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo

Karim Nathan: For the main event I feel like a lot of people aren’t giving Perez the props he deserves, he is on a good run in the flyweight division and just stopped the guy that beat Figueiredo. I still feel that Figueiredo should be able to get it done but I wouldn’t be totally surprised by an upset here. Figueiredo’s last two performances have been something amazing and the last one against Benavidez might be up there with the best title performance’s ever. Im going with a Figueiredo third round KO.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo

Alex Lough: Let me start off by saying that even though he’s not as big of a name, I think Alex Perez is a much better fight than Cody Garbrandt. He’s a very technical striker with an extremely slick ground game who isn’t as… chinny, as Cody. I think his game offers more of a threat to Deiveson Figueiredo than Garbrandt’s boxing. That being said, I still have to side with Figueiredo. He just has obscene power that would hold up at 145, and while his submission game mainly consists of snatching dudes necks, it could be enough to make Perez hesitate to shoot in. I expect it to be a good fight, and Perez could steal it if it goes into the later rounds, but look for Figueiredo to put it away in the third.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo

Abhinav Kini: Figueiredo vs. Perez is a heck of a fight between two genuinely exciting fighters. Perez has the volume and wrestling while Figueiredo has the power, precision and submissions. I believe (or hope) this could be a Fight of the Night but it will more than likely be a Performance of the Night with Figueiredo getting the KO/TKO in the 2nd or 3rd round. His power is just too much for that division and it will be hard for Perez to avoid it for 25 minutes in my opinion.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo

Lewis Dunn: I think we are witnessing a new era of the men’s flyweight division. Off the back of two dominant victories against multiple-time title challenge Joseph Benavidez. I think we are going to see Figueiredo make easy of work of Perez and begin a title run that I believe will last for a long time. Of course, this is MMA and anything can happen. But, if Perez is to win he will need to drag Figueiredo into deep waters and enter the championship rounds. We are still to see how good of a gas tank Figueredo has, where cardio is a big part of Perez’s game. Tire out Figueiredo and capitalize. However, I don’t think Perez will survive past round 3 and we will see Figuerido get his hand raised. My prediction Figueiredo by KO/TKO round 3.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo

Ryan MacCarthy: This is gonna be an awesome fight. Figueiredo is a heavy favorite for very good reasons though. He’s a -300 favorite while Perez is at +230 dog here. I like Figueiredo winning this fight, but that doesnt mean Perez can’t pull off the upset. He certainly can. Figueiredo and Perez are similar in that they both have power in both hands. They like to go forward and look for the finish. I think Figueiredo is more powerful than Perez. That’s why I love this sport, though, maybe Perez can win. I do think Figueiredo is a little bit slow. He doesn’t have combinations, he throws one punch at a time, maybe two. A Combination of speed and power will be key for victory for either of these men. I see Figueredo finishing this in the later rounds.

Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo