Deiveson Figueiredo has not found the same success as he did at flyweight since moving up to the bantamweight division, and the road doesn’t get much easier at UFC Fight Night 277.
Former two-time flyweight champ Figueiredo (25-6-1 MMA, 14-6-1 UFC) has gone 4-3 in his seven octagon appearances at 135 pounds. On Saturday, he faces another top contender in Song Yadong (22-9-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) when they meet in the five-round headliner at Galaxy Macau in Macau (Paramount+).
Both men have gone up against the very elite the division has had to offer with mixed results, and the matchup this weekend is critical if they want to remain in the conversation among the very best.
Longtime UFC analyst Alan Jouban thinks Figueiredo has not exactly received favorable matchmaking since changing divisions. That’s resulted in him dropping three of his past four against Umar Nurmagomedov, Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan, but Jouban thinks he can get it done in this one.
“Deiveson Figueiredo obviously up a division now, he’s been kind of hit or miss depending on who he is going against,” Jouban told MMA Junkie. “Look, we can’t really judge him off his losses. He’s had some tough matchups. This one, I wouldn’t say it’s getting any easier against Song Yadong. It’s a winnable fight. It’s not a former champion or a guy at the very, very top of the division.”
Song enters UFC Fight Night 277 as No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings. Figueiredo is holding down the No. 9 spot with a chance to move up, but is he currently a significant betting underdog. Jouban expects the Brazilian to be fuelled by that, and anticipates a violent collision inside the octagon.
“(Song is) still young, still strong,” Jouban said. “These are two guys that are going to put on an exciting show. These guys like to press forward and look for the kill.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Macau: Song Yadong ‘a winnable fight’ for Deiveson Figueiredo