Tomorrow morning in the main event of UFC Macau we are going to see a bantamweight showdown between two former world champions. Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (17-5) will be taking on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3-1).
Starting with Petr Yan, he made his octagon debut in 2018 and won his first six fights to earn a title shot. After winning the bantamweight title, he lost it by DQ. He then won the interim title and lost a unification bout to Aljamain Sterling. That Sterling loss was the first of three in a row.
That said, all three losses came against world champions in the form of Sterling, Sean O’Malley, and Merab Dvalishvili. Back in May, Yan returned and took on Song Yadong. It was a great fight, but Yan was too much and got back on track with a big win. Now, he’ll look to become the first at bantamweight to defeat the former flyweight champion.
In January 2023 at UFC 283, Deiveson Figueiredo lost the fourth and final fight in his series against Brandon Moreno for the flyweight title. After that loss, Figueiredo announced he’d be moving up to bantamweight after struggling for years to make the flyweight limit of 125 pounds.
Since making his bantamweight debut, he’s gone 3-0. He defeated Rob Font and then he submitted Cody Garbrandt. Following that, he took on former title challenger Chito Vera at UFC Saudi Arabia and won a very impressive decision. Now, he takes on the former champion Petr Yan hoping to earn a bantamweight title shot.
UFC Macau Prediction
When looking at Figueiredo’s wins thus far at bantamweight, he’s really used a few things to his advantage. On the feet, his power has carried over from flyweight and he’s had a tremendous speed advantage. That said, his big advantage has been in his grappling. He was able to take all of his opponents down.
I’m not sure he’ll be able to do that with Yan especially as the fight goes on. On the feet, I’m not sure he’ll have an advantage there either. While Figueiredo might be a little faster than Yan, the boxing technique definitely favors the former bantamweight champion. When it comes to cardio, I also like Petr Yan more than I do Figueiredo.
Honestly, I’m struggling to see how Figueiredo wins this fight unless he can finish Yan. I expect this fight to be close early, but I really expect Yan to pull away starting in round three. I could easily see this going the distance, but something tells me Yan gets a late finish on a very tired Figueiredo at UFC Macau.
Prediction: Petr Yan by TKO