Headlining the card this past Saturday at UFC Des Moines was a big time matchup in the bantamweight division. Two top contenders were looking to bounce back and get themselves into the title picture as Cory Sandhagen (18-5) took on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (24-5-1).
Deiveson Figueiredo got off to a really hot start in the bantamweight division. The former flyweight champion moved up to 135 at the end of 2023 and went 3-0 in his first three fights with wins over Chito Vera, Cody Garbrandt, and Rob Font. Last November, he found himself in a title eliminator with Petr Yan and lost a decision in Macau.
This past Saturday at UFC Des Moines, he was looking to get back in the win column against Sandhagen. Throughout the first part of the first round, Figueiredo struggled with the length and movement of Sandhagen. They ended up on the ground where Figueiredo continued to go for leg locks that never got close in the first round. Ultimately, he ended up eating a lot of shots from Sandhagen.
In the second round, Figueiredo got a takedown of his own but again, found himself going for leg locks. Him and Sandhagen ended up in a 50-50 position and when Sandhagen postured up and forward, Figueiredo’s knee popped forcing him to tap giving Sandhagen the win at UFC Des Moines.
What’s next after UFC Des Moines?
This was a huge setback for Deiveson Figueiredo. Not only did he lose his second fight in a row, but he suffered a nasty knee injury that’ll likely keep him for the rest of 2025. We don’t know the severity of the knee injury just yet, but Figueiredo couldn’t put any weight on his leg when he was making his way by us at media row on Saturday night.
My hope is that Figueiredo doesn’t have to be out for an extended period of time and for the purposes of this article, we are going to hope for the best. If Figueiredo can return at the end of this year or first part of 2026, who should the UFC pair him with?
In the latest rankings update, Figueiredo came in at sixth. I’m keeping my eyes on two names for Figgy. One name is the guy who is ranked one spot ahead of him and that’s Song Yadong. The other name I’m watching is Mario Bautista. Bautista is fighting Chito Vera next month and should he beat Vera, I could see Figueiredo being a name to watch for him.