Tomorrow night in the headliner of UFC 256, we have a flyweight title clash between Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1) and Brandon Moreno (18-5-1). Both of these fighters just fought at UFC 255 which was three weeks ago.
That night, Figueiredo was able to successfully defend his title against Alex Perez. Perez was the fourth ranked flyweight contender, but the UFC gave him the title shot. Figueiredo was able to submit him in the first round.
It’s been an incredibly dominant year for the UFC champion. He started things out by starching Joseph Benavidez back in February. That fight was supposed to be for the vacant flyweight title, but Figueiredo missed weight.
They rematched in July and Figueiredo finished Benavidez quicker than he did the first time. A sensational 2020 has book the UFC flyweight champion on the map and he looks like a destroyer that the division has truly never had.
The challenger tomorrow night is Brandon Moreno. Despite being the top ranked contender in the UFC‘s flyweight division, Moreno didn’t get the title shot a few weeks ago. Instead, he took on Brandon Royval and he won by TKO.
Since returning to the UFC in September of last year, Moreno has gone 3-0-1 with wins over Royval and Jussier Formiga. Moreno is looking to become the UFC’s first Mexican born champion tomorrow night.
UFC 256 Prediction
This is such a fun matchup and honestly it’s the matchup we should have had at UFC 255. Moreno is clearly the top contender in the division if you ask me. He’s got very good striking skills and we’ve seen him show off his grappling.
What’s impressed me in his last few fights is how he beats opponents at their own game. People expected Brandon Royval to have the grappling advantage, yet Moreno dominated the grappling at UFC 255.
He’s strong wherever the fight goes and you know he’s going to be prepared. However, he has an extremely tall order tomorrow night. Deiveson Figueiredo is not your normal flyweight. For lack of a better term, he’s a destoryer.
He has incredible power for a flyweight. On top of that, he’s incredibly slick on the ground and can submit you from anywhere. Now that he has his weight under control, the UFC champion truly doesn’t have a weakness in his game.
What concerns me for Moreno is I’ve seen him struggle against power punchers. See the Alexandre Pantoja fight as an example. I’m worried that Figueiredo’s power is really going to throw off Moreno tomorrow night.
If Figueiredo wasn’t the champion, I truly believe that Brandon Moreno could be. However, Figueiredo is the champion and he stands in Moreno’s way tomorrow night. Unfortunately for “The Assassin Baby”, I don’t think the belts going anywhere.
Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo by TKO – Round 3