This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Macau, we saw a big time matchup with potential title implications in the bantamweight division. Former world champions went head-to-head as former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) took on former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (18-5).
Back in January 2023, Deiveson Figueiredo lost the fourth and final fight of his flyweight championship series against Brandon Moreno. Having lost the title, Figueiredo decided to move up to bantamweight after struggling for years to make the 125 pound weight limit.
Figueiredo looked sensational through his first three bantamweight fights. He defeated the likes of Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Chito Vera to put himself in a good position to challenge for the title. He just needed to get through former champion Petr Yan to secure that spot.
Unfortunately, UFC Macau was not Figueiredo’s night. Figueiredo did see some success throughout the fight landing a big takedown in the first round and visibly hurting Yan a couple of times on the feet. However, his big moments were too few and far between as Yan put on a sensational performance. The fight felt much closer than the final scores would suggest as Yan won all five rounds on all three scorecards.
What’s next after UFC Macau?
The reality is, I don’t think that Figueiredo loses much from this fight on Saturday. Sure, he’s not getting to fight for the bantamweight title next, but I don’t see him dropping in the rankings at all. I see him getting another big time fight in his next matchup and if he wins, he’s right back in the mix for a title shot.
So, what should the UFC do with him next? Honestly, I love the idea of Figueiredo facing former interim title challenger and current fourth ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen is coming off a loss to number one contender Umar Nurmagomedov.
Figueiredo and Sandhagen are in a very similar spot and they are ranked fourth and fifth in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings. Just makes all the sense in the world for these two to be paired up next.