Deiveson Figueiredo takes help of Khabib Nurmagomedov for his Marlon Vera fight at UFC Abu Dhabi
Deiveson Figueiredo has not competed since defeating Cody Garbrandt via second-round submission to kick off the landmark UFC 300 card in April. The No.6-ranked bantamweight is set to return to the octagon this weekend when he faces Marlon Vera on the main card of UFC on ABC 7.
Footage recently emerged of the two-time flyweight champion training alongside UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose cousin Umar Nurmagomedov is set to headline the card against Cory Sandhagen. In the clip, 'The Eagle' can be heard telling 'Deus da Guerra's camp that they are welcome at his gym anytime, stating:
"Any time, this is your home guys. You are welcome, any time. Good luck. Good luck this Saturday."
Championship Rounds shared the footage, captioning the post:
"Deiveson Figueiredo seen training at Khabib’s gym in Abu Dhabi ahead of his fight against Chito Vera this weekend 👀 🎥 IG / italoalvesbjj #UFC #MMA"
Check out the post from Championship Rounds below:
Nurmagomedov hosted Figueiredo's camp at Khabib Gym, which is located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. While the No.6-ranked bantamweight and Khabib's cousin 'Young Eagle' will both have the opportunity to enter the top-five of the divisional rankings this weekend, it appears that the two camps have had no issues working alongside one another.
Marlon Vera claims he will pull out demons against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ABC 7
Marlon Vera is coming off a poor showing in the first title opportunity of his mixed martial arts career, as he was defeated by Sean O'Malley via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 299. The No.4-ranked bantamweight revealed that he is planning to dig deep when he faces Deiveson Figueiredo in his return to the octagon at UFC on ABC 7 this weekend.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, 'Chito' stated:
"I'm going to focus on Figueiredo. I know that's a big challenge. I'm taking this just as serious as I was taking the title fight [and] all the fights before. I'm going to get in there and f**king let this motherf**ker know we're on my time and if I have to dig deep and f**king go to the basement and pull all the demons, we’ll f**king bring them."
Check out Marlon Vera's full comments on facing Deiveson Figueiredo below:
Vera noted that Figueiredo is a dangerous opponent. However, he shared that he is looking to work his way back into the bantamweight title picture. He added that the best way to do so would be an impressive performance at UFC on ABC 7.
'Chito' will mark the toughest test for the flyweight champion since his move to the 135 pound division.