UFC Abu Dhabi is a massive card for the bantamweight division with bantamweights headlining the card and another massive bantamweight matchup being featured on the main card. Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (23-3-1) will look to remain unbeaten at bantamweight as he takes on former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera (23-9-1).
Starting with Figueiredo, he will be fighting at 135 for the third time. In January 2023, Figueiredo fought Brandon Moreno for the fourth time for the flyweight title and ultimately lost to Moreno. Following that epic series, he moved to bantamweight. Since moving up he’s defeated top contender Rob Font and former champ Cody Garbrandt. Now, he’ll look to take out Chito Vera.
The last time we saw Chito Vera was UFC 299 where he got his shot against Sean O’Malley for the title. Vera defeated O’Malley in their first fight but was completely dominated in the rematch. He showed incredible toughness but he was outclassed the entire fight. Nevertheless, he’s still one of the best in the world and he’s 5-2 in his last seven fights.
UFC Abu Dhabi Prediction
When it comes to this matchup, we need to see Chito Vera be more aggressive. The biggest issue with Vera is he is an extremely slow starter. Vera really benefits from five-round fights because he can usually take his time, but he only has three rounds to work at UFC Abu Dhabi.
If he takes the first round off against Figueiredo, he’s really going to have a tough time coming back. When it comes to the striking, Vera needs to kick early and often. He’s going to be at a speed disadvantage in pure boxing against the former flyweight champion. I think Figueiredo can get the better of things just using their hands which is why Chito needs to mix it up.
For Figueiredo, I expect him to strike some before trying to wrestle. Vera usually does a solid job of defending takedowns and I think that defense is going to need to be on point at UFC Abu Dhabi. I think this ends up being a very close fight and because of the slow starts of Vera, I’m going to lean ever so slightly towards Figueiredo. I can easily see this being a split decision one way or the other.
Prediction: Deiveson Figueiredo by Decision