Who won the UFC fight last night: Brandon Moreno pushes Deiveson Figueiredo to the brink in a five-round war!
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno should both be hailed as the 'saviors' of the UFC flyweight division.
Just three weeks after fighting (separate opponents) at UFC 255, the pair showed incredible heart by signing up to headline UFC 256 in a battle for the flyweight championship. And what a battle it turned out to be. Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno put up a fight for the ages in the main event of tonight's UFC 256 pay-per-view, capping off the last PPV of the season in truly thrilling fashion.
In a back and forth slugfest over five rounds, the pair canceled each other out in a stalemate as the fight was scored a majority draw. Figueiredo retained his championship title but Moreno's stock rose sky-high as well. The fight is being tipped as one of the greatest fights of this year and UFC president Dana White even referred to the epic bout as the greatest in the history of the flyweight division.
By retaining his title, Deiveson Figueiredo became the first man in UFC history to successfully defend his title twice within a month.
Figueiredo and Moreno set a record for the quickest turnaround in a title defense as well as a title challenge. The pair also set the record for the most strikes landed in a flyweight bout in the UFC with 269 total strikes.
Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo produce a 'fight of the year' candidate at UFC 256
The fight started with a frantic pace from the get-go with both men indulging in wild and dangerous exchanges in the center of the octagon.
Figueiredo looked the better fighter early on as he rocked the Mexican multiple times with his precise and lethal striking. The Brazilian dominated the second round as well, with Moreno showing incredible championship heart to stay in the fight despite being hit with some powerful haymakers.
However, it was in the third round that things started going awry for the champion. Moreno found his way back into the fight with some effective counter-punching as Figueiredo would often overstretch, trying to land a finishing blow on his opponent.
Moreno's overhand, straight rights, and left hooks had started seriously troubling Figueiredo when the latter inadvertently hit his opponent with a straight kick to the groin.
The low blow resulted in a point deduction that most likely caused the majority draw in the end.
Speaking about the low kick he threw during the post fight interview, Figueiredo said that it was completely accidental.
"The referee did his job, you know. I threw an eye poke on accident and I threw the low kick on accident. He did his job. It's not my place to say that, but I was able to go in there and put on a good fight."
Moreno was given five minutes to recover from the low blow and he did so, albeit after coughing up a little blood.
The fight started again and Moreno found his rhythm again, dragging the champ to choppy waters in the fourth round of the fight. It was a close round but Brandon Moreno clearly landed more strikes to take the fourth.
In the final round, however, a shoulder injury restricted the movement of Moreno's left hand and it was evident in his cautious approach. Figueiredo, who was until then looking weary, found a second wind and started chopped away at his opponent with leg kicks and one-two combinations.
Two judges scored the fight 47-47 while another scored it 48-46 in favor of the champion. The MMA community couldn't stop raving about the amazing fight in the immediate aftermath of the event and the talks of a potential rematch are already doing the rounds.
Brandon Moreno echoed the same sentiments.
"We need that rematch. For me, for Figueiredo, for the fans, for everybody. If they want to put him in front of me for the next fight, I'm open to that. I want to tell Dana and everyone that I'm always open to anything. I made weight in 20 days, I was able to come back here. Maybe with a full training camp, I'll be able to neutralize his game. But I need to go back and spend some time with my family and relax for a little bit."
The last time there was a draw in a UFC title fight was back in November 2016, when then-welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought to a stalemate during their first clash at UFC 205.