Deiveson Figueiredo has not been cleared to return to action following his last fight.
It seems that former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will be out of competition for a while longer. According to the number one ranked flyweight, he has not been medically cleared to return to action and therefore his scheduled bout with Manel Kape has been removed from the UFC 290 fight card.
This news comes at a time when UFC 290 is ramping up. The much anticipated International Fight Week card is under construction and the UFC was looking to bring some very intriguing matchups. This bout between Figueiredo and Kape could have been a title elimination bout, especially with champion Brandon Moreno on the fight card, unfortunately, it must wait.
Deiveson Figueiredo is still suffering from vision problems following his last fight
Figueiredo’s last outing was a flyweight title fight against now-champion Moreno. That bout was held on January 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the fight, Figueiredo suffered an injury to his eye. The eye was swollen shut and the fight was called a TKO after the ringside doctor deemed Figueiredo’s injury too severe. It seems now the eye is still giving Figueiredo problems, four months later.
“I’m still injured,” Figueiredo told Trocação Franca via MMA Fighting. “I asked for a fight, told my manager I wanted to fight already, but when he gave me the fight and I talked to my physical therapist and my ophthalmologist, [they said] my eyesight is still not 100 percent. There are days I see things normal, but there are days it’s not OK, especially the days after I train, so they decided I had to go the full six-month [medical suspension] the ophthalmologist gave me.”
In the interview, it seemed that Figueiredo was not too pleased with Kape as an opponent anyway. He was adamant about wanting a top-ranked opponent for his return, Kape is currently ranked ninth. After his last loss, it seemed that the assumption was that Figueiredo would be making a jump up to bantamweight but now that is not the case. It is unlikely that he will get another title shot while Moreno is still on top, seeing as they have fought each other four times already. Figueiredo did not specify a timeline for the return.
Quotes via MMA Fighting.
