Deiveson Figueiredo Speaks Out After UFC 263 Loss to Brandon Moreno
Deiveson Figueiredo might’ve lost the battle against newly-crowned UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, but he has yet to lose the war and wants another shot at a trilogy with Moreno in the near future.
Figueiredo spoke with Combate for his first interview since his devastating loss in the UFC 263 co-main event to Moreno. He alluded to not feeling his best overall entering the octagon and wants an immediate rematch with Moreno.
“I left the hotel feeling very bad,” Figueiredo said. “I knew it wasn’t my day, but I gave it into God’s hands, and going to the octagon I said, ‘Lord, yours will be done.’ I got in there, I didn’t really fight like I (can).”
“And now I want the trilogy. He got my belt, the first one I won and we’re going to fight this third fight now to take the fight off. I really want to immediately ask for a rematch with Dana and I hope to get it because I won the first fight and even so they took a point from me and they decided to draw to give the second fight.”
Moreno submitted Figueiredo via rear-naked choke in the third round of their bout, in the rematch of their “Fight of the Year” candidate late last year. Before that, Figueiredo had been outstruck in the fight but did have Moreno in trouble a few times on the feet and on the ground. Figueiredo came close to sinking in a guillotine choke in the second round before Moreno was able to break himself free and work back up from the mat.
Figueiredo and Moreno shared a nice moment after the fight, with both embracing in the center of the octagon as the official decision was read and with “Deus Da Guerra” lifting Moreno in the air in congratulatory fashion.
UFC president Dana White wouldn’t commit to an immediate trilogy between Figueiredo and Moreno and wasn’t specific as to who the new champion will face next. Second-ranked flyweight contender Askar Askarov seems like the most logical option, but anything is possible when it comes to the rivalry between Figueiredo and Moreno.
Do you think Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno should fight an immediate trilogy later this year?
