Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno put on a fight for the ages in UFC 256 majority draw
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno put on a Fight of the Year candidate in UFC's final PPV of 2020. The two men put on an all-time classic, with Dana White describing it as "the greatest fight in the history of the Flyweight division"
Round 1: Deiveson Figueiredo went charging aggressively and first got a clinch before an exchange on the feet. Brandon Moreno tagged Deiveson Figueiredo with a body shot and began to time the Champion's movement. Figueiredo began to get more aggressive and had Moreno in the ground but the Mexican kicked his way out of the position.
Moreno started to land as well, but Figueiredo had a clear power advantage. Figueiredo started walking Brandon Moreno down despite the Mexican doing well with his overall timing.
Round 2: Brandon Moreno tried to get a good shot in but it was blocked before Deiveson Figueiredo landed a hard body kick. The Champion started reading Moreno's movements more before throwing. Figueiredo threw a few calf kicks and Brandon Moreno got a takedown, but as the Champion got up, there was an eye poke.
Jason Herzog gave Brandon Moreno the opportunity to get back in the previous position. Deiveson Figueiredo got up quickly and there was an intense back-and-forth with both men landing. The Champion then landed a vicious shot to the head but Brandon Moreno's chin was holding up.
A right hand from Moreno got Figueiredo's attention and he followed it up with a low kick and a jab.
Figueiredo landed a few close shots but got taken down, only to get up with relative ease. A small back-and-forth ended an excellent round.
Round 3: Deiveson Figueiredo started swinging wild shots and started landing vicious body shots, only for Moreno to counter and get the clinch. He wasn't able to get the takedown. Deiveson Figueiredo landed a left hook but Moreno kept answering back with his own shots.
Deiveson Figueiredo landed an illegal kick to the groin with a big 'thud' and Brandon Moreno went down in agony. Brandon Moreno was compromised and started spitting out blood. Even though Moreno had four minutes left, he continued while Figueiredo had a point deducted from him.
The Champion landed his first takedown of the night but Moreno got back up to his feet. Moreno landed a solid right to end another incredible round.
Round 4: Brandon Moreno came out all guns blazing in round four. While he ate the first shot, he landed clean and a kick to the head seemingly rocked Figueiredo. Moreno had Figueiredo in a bad position bit soon after that, the challenger started getting visibly fatigued. Despite that, he landed another takedown and was in top position. Brandon Moreno landed a hard right hand and left hook to end the fourth round. By this time, it already entered Fight of the year category.
Round 5: Both men carefully paced themselves out to start the final round. Brandon Moreno ate a body kick but kept moving forward. Brandon Moreno possibly broke his left forearm and his activity slowed down.
Moreno threw the injured arm and Figueiredo kept throwing but wasn't finding the success he wanted. Moreno attempted a shot but slipped. Clearly compromised, he kept moving forward while Figueiredo moved back looking for the counter. Figueiredo landed a pivotal takedown right at the end of the fight to secure the fifth round.
Result: Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno ended in a majority draw (48-47, 47-47, 47-47)
Deiveson Figueiredo retains the UFC Flyweight Championship
Deiveson Figueiredo set to have a rematch with Brandon Moreno?
Joe Rogan told Brandon Moreno that a rematch makes sense and the challenger agreed that it's necessary, while admitting that it was a close fight.
Deiveson Figueiredo stated that the previous day, he had a stomach infection and wasn't sure how he would perform. He said that he was happy with his performance. The Champion said he's open to the fight and believes that with a full training camp, he will be able to neutralize Brandon Moreno.
Here are the rest of the results on the UFC 256 main card:
Charles Oliveira def. Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Mackenzie Dern def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kevin Holland def. Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza via KO (Round 1, 1:45)
Ciryl Gane def. Junior dos Santos via TKO (Round 2, 2:34)