"It will be great to put on a show for people" - Deiveson Figueiredo reiterates desire to fight in his home country of Brazil
![Deiveson Figueiredo reiterates desire to fight in his home country of Brazil. [Image credits: YouTube/UFC]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/07/02381-16592127827518-1920.jpg?w=500)
Deiveson Figueiredo recently expressed his desire to fight in his home country.
In an interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Fighting, the flyweight champ earnestly revealed his wish to fight in the upcoming UFC event in Brazil, which is rumored to take place during the first quarter of 2023.
Figueiredo proudly stated that it would be an "honor and privilege" to defend his belt in his home country, stating:
"In the perfect world for me obviously, we would go to Brazil and have that fight there. I have not experienced what is fighting in my country for quite some time. It's like four or five years...It would be an honor and a privilege to actually take UFC down there and have that fight down there, because it would be great to put on a show for [Brazilian] people. And also, they'll be really proud to see someone who defends the belt — the country — the way I do."
Figueiredo continued:
"I think it would be great to actually have that fight down there and for me to have this opportunity to fight in front of fans there. Because the Brazilian fans are just... they're fanatic about this."
'Deus da Guerra' reclaimed his flyweight title from Brandon Moreno back at UFC 270 with a decision victory over 'The Assassin Baby'. He is next expected to fight the winner of the interim flyweight championship between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France at UFC 277.
Figueiredo has been actively lobbying the UFC to schedule his next title defense at the UFC event in Brazil. It will be interesting to see the Brazilian defend his belt in his home country should his request come to fruition.
You can check out Deiveson Figueiredo's full interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Fighting below:
Deiveson Figueiredo expresses his wish to move up to bantamweight
During a recent appearance on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, Deiveson Figueiredo claimed that he intends to move up to the bantamweight division of the UFC; however, he did not provide any specific timeline for his move.
Figueiredo also predicted that current bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling won't be the division's titleholder by the time the flyweight champion goes up to 135 pounds. The Brazilian stated that there are better fighters, such as Jose Aldo and T.J. Dillashaw, in the bantamweight division who could potentially beat Sterling.
The flyweight champion said:
“I admit, I have the desire to go up to 135… I don’t know when, only God knows that. [But] as long as I’m having success at 125 and have someone to challenge me, rest assured that I’ll continue defending what’s mine.”
Figueiredo further added:
“I think it’s a matter of time until he [Sterling] loses this spot... There are some guys that are way better than him. If he collides with Jose Aldo, Jose Aldo knocks him out... I’ve observed [Dillashaw] a lot, he’s very strategic and smart. When he fights for the belt again, he will win this title back.”