Deiveson Figueiredo “at 220%”, eyes “fight for the belt” post-UFC Rio

Deiveson Figueiredo sees himself in prime position to vault towards a title shot with a strong showing at UFC Rio. While some might see the former UFC flyweight champion in a bit of a compromised spot coming off of consecutive defeats, Figueiredo has an interesting line of logic as to why he could get a title crack.

The Brazilian mixed martial artist is preparing to clash with Montel Jackson in Rio de Janeiro with Figueiredo facing his first unranked opponent since his 2017 promotional debut.

Figueiredo has sustained defeats to former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan as well as the last man to contend for the UFC’s 135 pound crown, Cory Sandhagen heading into this one. When touching on the machiantions of the matchup with Jackson and looking at his ideal path forward, Figueiredo said [via Sherdog],

“He’s already proven himself to be extremely tough, and it’s no coincidence that he’s on a six-fight winning streak. I’m sure an impressive victory over him will only prove that I do deserve to fight for the belt. After all, I’m the only top fighter in the division who hasn’t faced Merab. On Saturday, I’ll be 220% ready to get a knockout or submission. I’m not one to leave a fight in the hands of the judges, especially fighting with the support of my fans.”

Deiveson Figueiredo and his road to UFC Rio

Deiveson Figueiredo was rooted in Natal leading into this fight with extensive work had with the Pitbull Brothers camp. Leandro Higo seemed like a major part of the refinement process here. Figueiredo also stated in his prior bout he felt like he was entering at 50 percent which is far lower than the percentile he mentioned in the above quote.

The 37-year-old referred to Jackson as a very patient guy but also mentioned that he feels like Jackson’s wrestling is overrated despite coming from that kind of background. Figueiredo and his camp also weren’t high on Jackson’s boxing. Since he has fought a veritable murderer’s row of fighters, ‘Deus da Guerra’ feels confident that he can assess whether or not Montel Jackson can vault into the UFC rankings hierarchy.