The UFC flyweight champion of the world is not too happy with the promotion. Undisputed king Deiveson Figueiredo (21-2-1) is currently nursing a hand injury that has kept him out of the octagon since January.
Back in January at UFC 270, Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fought for the third time. The first fight was a draw and then Moreno won the second fight. Figueiredo exacted his revenge in the third fight to reclaim his flyweight title.
Originally, there were talks for the promotion to do the fourth fight given the fact that neither man had the advantage in the series. However, Figueiredo has been sidelined with this injury and has still not been cleared to compete.
In the meantime, at UFC 277 later this month, Brandon Moreno will take on Kai Kara-France for the interim flyweight title. The decision to put together an interim title fight is not something that sat well with Figueiredo.
In addition to not being happy with the interim title situation, the UFC champ has voiced his frustrations regarding pay. In fact, he’s become so frustrated that he fired his previous manager and hired someone the UFC is very familiar with.
UFC champ hires legend to represent him
Deiveson Figueiredo told MMA Fighting this week that he’s hired Urijah Faber to be his new manager. The goal behind hiring Faber was to have someone who is close with the UFC to negotiate his next contract.
On the move, Figgy said, “Faber has contacts in the company, he’s close to Dana, he’s American and lives there, knows the numbers and how it works, and I’m sure he’ll fight hard for me there.”
Figueiredo said that he never made above $200,000 for his title fights with Moreno. In private discussions with Faber, Faber was telling him that his numbers were too low. That’s likely the case given the fact that he’s a UFC champion.
There’s no telling whether or not this decision will actually end up benefitting Figueiredo. One thing for sure though is the fact that it can’t hurt. It’ll be interesting to watch the fallout of this especially after UFC 277 later this month.