This past Saturday at UFC 256, we were treated to an incredible flyweight title fight between Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) and Brandon Moreno (18-5-2). The two men engaged in an absolute war where neither man would back down.
Going into UFC 256, many people thought Moreno didn’t have much of a chance to win. The general thought was that he would be tougher than Alex Perez was for the champion, but Figueiredo should have been able to win pretty easily.
It was evident in the first few rounds that wasn’t going to be the case. Figueiredo dominated the first round of the fight for the most part blasting Moreno with massive shots. However, nothing appeared to seriously damage the challenger.
The UFC champion seemed focused but almost perplexed at times that Moreno wouldn’t go down. Throughout the fight there were momentum swings, but in the end, I had it 3-2 for Figueiredo on my scorecard.
However, with Figueiredo being docked a point, I had the UFC 256 main event a draw. Ultimately that is how the fight was called when two of the three judges scored it a draw while one still gave it to Figueiredo.
Hospital trip’s impact at UFC 256
After the fight was over, Figueiredo said in his post-fight interview that he had to go to the hospital the night prior to UFC 256 with stomach issues. He said that he didn’t feel 100%, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.
This week, the champion expanded on that again saying through his manager that he would have finished Moreno at UFC 256. Figueiredo said to ESPN, “If I’m not sick, I knock him out or submit him in the first round, that’s a promise.”
The UFC champion has looked like a destroyer in 2020. However, this fight really shined a light on the fact that he can dig down deep and pull out a fight in the championship rounds. An important fight for a champion to go through.
However, it’s clear that he’s not happy with the performance. In all reality, I thought Figueiredo looked great on Saturday night. I just believe that Moreno is that tough and was able to take his shots.
Now, Figueiredo’s hospital trip and sickness could have played down his cardio. However, his weight cut could have also hurt his cardio. Either way, something depleted his gas tank a little.
Would that have changed the outcome? Maybe not considering he looked pretty fresh in the first round of their fight. I just believe that Moreno is tough as hell and wasn’t going to budge on Saturday night.