Deiveson Figueiredo had a successful debut at bantamweight, and he’s already feeling right at home at 135 pounds.
Figueiredo shared the Octagon with Rob Font on the main card of UFC Austin on December 2. Figueiredo certainly didn’t looked drained as he had been in the past cutting down to flyweight. Figueiredo looked crisp against the always tough Font. In the end, the former UFC flyweight champion scored the unanimous decision victory in his bantamweight debut.
Now, “Figgy” feels the sky’s the limit.
Deiveson Figueiredo Feels Like A Boxing GOAT In Bantamweight Division
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto got a chance to speak with Deiveson Figueiredo following his impressive bantamweight debut. During the interview, the Brazilian bruiser said that while he couldn’t get a finish, he’s happy with how things played out.
“Rob is such a tough guy, knocked him down a couple times but he’s tough,” Figueiredo said. “He’s always gonna be there, but I’m very happy, very satisfied with the fight.”
Figueiredo said that he was pleasantly surprised when he felt his opponent moved at a slower pace compared to his opposition at 125 pounds. He went as far as to say he was floating like a butterfly, and stinging like a bee.
“What I felt was that guys move so quick at 125, and here everything that Rob was doing I kind of knew what he was doing,” Figueiredo said. “I felt like Muhammad Ali. Like I was just moving, I felt great at 135.”
Of course, Figueiredo is also glad that he won’t have to cut all that weight to make it to ‘125.
“At 135 I feel great, at 125 I suffered a lot,” Figueiredo said. “It came to a point in a moment in my life that I was basically looking at myself and saying how much effort I was putting into this in trying to get there. Now, I know how well I feel at 135. So, I’m so ready for 135.”
Here is ESPN’s full video interview with Deiveson Figueiredo:
