"I will impose my will" - Deiveson Figueiredo felt 'devalued' when UFC announced interim title, promises greatest flyweight fight in Brandon Moreno quadrilogy
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno are destined to fight for a fourth time, an unprecedented occasion in the UFC. Figueiredo is the current 125 lbs champion, while Moreno has just won the interim title at flyweight with a victory over Kai Kara-France.
Figueiredo won the belt when he defeated Moreno in January 2022, and the possibility of them fighting for a fourth time was already in discussion at the beginning of the year. Figueiredo then declared he had injured his hand following the fight and would need time to recover.
The UFC responded by announcing an interim title fight between Moreno and Kara-France, which upset Figueiredo. He spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about the disappointment, and promised fans that his next performance will be his best yet:
"I felt a little bit devalued, just a little bit, when I saw they [UFC] made that announcement. Now I think about it with a different mindset. The UFC is making a great choice, because now we're going to unify the belts. This is going to be the first quadrilogy in history, this is going to be the greatest flyweight fight in history. I promise you I will not take a step backwards. I will walk forward, and I will impose my will from the first round until the last round."
Watch the interview below:
Deiveson Figueiredo was asked by Helwani how his recovery is going, and how far away he is from being fully recovered.
He said the following:
"I am 95%, I'm already training all aspects of MMA."
Deiveson Figueiredo responds to Joe Rogan's criticism
Joe Rogan was overheard referring to the interim title fight taking place at UFC 277 between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France as 'the real title'. Rogan was insinuating that Deiveson Figueiredo no longer has the desire to cut all the weight to get down to flyweight and defend his title.
Figueiredo was asked for his thoughts on what Rogan said in a post-UFC 277 press conference, and the champion had this to say:
"I am going to have to step in to the arena and look for Joe Rogan's crystal ball. I am going to show it to him. Maybe there could be a friendly wager? I am going to make weight, and I'm going to show it to him."
Watch the video below:
Deiveson Figueiredo will no doubt look to disregard Rogan's opinion and fight Moreno for the title. The fourth fight will be historic moment for the UFC.