Deiveson Figueiredo reveals how he plans to finish Joseph Benavidez on July 18th

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The last meeting

Deiveson Figueiredo can certainly lay the claim to being the uncrowned UFC Flyweight Champion. The last time he faced Joseph Benavidez for the vacant Flyweight Championship, he wasn't eligible to win it as he had missed weight by 2.5 pounds.

He ended up finishing Joseph Benavidez convincingly anyway and the UFC was forced to book a rematch between the two. They'll face off on July 18th and Joseph Benavidez is looking to get revenge.

Deiveson Figueiredo, however, has other plans in mind. He doesn't seem like he's going to be satisfied with a TKO/KO victory and told Ag Fight that he intends to become the first person to submit Joseph Benavidez:

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“He will hang his chin low, because he knows I’m an aggressive guy and I’ll look for the knockout again. I want to end this whole ‘never been finished by submission’ thing he has going. I’m going out there to submit him. I came close (to submitting Benavidez). Now it’s all about connecting my strikes and not letting him get away. I know he’s fast, explosive, but that’s my game, too. We own Brazilian jiu-jitsu, though, so we’re studying a way to stop him and control the position so he can’t escape a locked in submission.”

To avoid missing weight like last time, he said that he's taking extra measures in his rematch with Joseph Benavidez:

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“On the day of the trip, I want to be down to 132, 134 pounds. I’m used to arriving at about 145, 143. I don’t want to drop the ball. I want to get there certain I’ll make weight and bring the belt back to Brazil.”

Will Joseph Benavidez get his redemption?

If Joseph Benavidez manages to beat Figueiredo, then it's almost guaranteed to set-up a trilogy between the two. Right below them in the co-main event will be Kelvin Gastelum returning to take on Jack Hermansson. That fight alone seems like a main event and, unfortunately, we're only going to be seeing three rounds of it.

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