Deiveson Figueiredo edged out Brandon Moreno by unanimous decision to win back the flyweight title tonight at UFC 270 in a very closely contested trilogy battle.
Round One:
Low leg kick from Figueiredo. He loads up on another but misses. again he goes for it and Moreno tries to respond with a flurry of strikes without landing anything of note, but they appear to clash heads before he gets into the clinch against the cage. Both fighers seem ok thankfully.
Figueiredo turns into the clinch. Bit of a stalemate from here at the moment and eventually Moreno is able to break free.
Figueiredo leads with a double-jab. Both men land a jab apiece at the same time. Moreno attempts a head kick.
Low leg kick from Figueiredo knocks Moreno off-balance, but he still manages to land a punch as he stumbled that landed nicely, then points at the former champ as if to say that he knows he hurt him with that.
Another low kick from Figueiredo. Figueiredo ducks under a punch from Moreno, then switches to the back and drags him down. Moreno on his knees turtled up. Moreno able to role out and get back to his feet.
Moreno misses a hook and Figueiredo attempts to clinch again without success. Spinning calf kick from Moreno lands nicely. Now an inside low kick from Moreno that knocks Figueiredo’s base off for a moment.
Figueiredo lands a nice combination as he works his levels. Moreno looks to land to the body and Figueiredo targets the low kick again.
Round Two:
Moreno pumping out the jab as Figueiredo attempts to get hold of a single-leg without quite managing to do so.
Moreno now tries to clinch and spin around to the back, but then opts to just punch instead. They trade strikes in close, but both don’t quite find a home for their strikes. Figueiredo with a low kick inside.
overhand right for Figueiredo. Inside leg kick for Moreno. Spinning high kick attempted from Figueiredo, but Moreno avoids and bundles him to the mat, but then Figueiredo scrambles right back up.
Another low kick from Figueiredo. Moreno coming up short with punches and then lands one. Overhand right from Figueiredo scuffs the target. Moreno lands to the body. Now a leg kick for him.
Front kick to the body for Figueiredo. Grazing left hand from Moreno. Nice liver punch from Moreno and more punches behind it upstairs.
leg kick for Figueiredo and Moreno swings and misses in response. Figueiredo tries for a takedown and doesn’t get it.
Calf kick for Moreno. Now a jab lands for the champion. Figueiredo targets the body. Hook for Moreno. They start to trade blows and Figueiredo lands hard. he lands again, but then Moreno connects and Figueiredo definitely felt that.
Figueiredo attempts a takedown but can’t get it. Jab from Moreno and then a head kick attempt, with Figueiredo attempting one of his own immediately afterwards.
Round Three:
Solid leg kick for Figueiredo. Lunging left hook for him. Moreno drives into a knee strike to the body, but Figueiredo does well to work that into a takedown. Moreno quickly able to move to the cage and stand back up.
Back to striking range. Low kick for Figueiredo. Now Moreno lands one of his own. Solid body kick for Figueiredo. Figueiredo lands a good left hand and Moreno staggers for a moment and rolls to the mat and then back up. He lands a punch too now.
Moreno lands a clean punch and Figueiredo didn’t like that. Low kick for Figueiredo, jab from Moreno. Body punch from Figueiredo. Figueiredo looking to load up on big punches, but Moreno landing with power too.
Low kick from Figueiredo takes Moreno off his feet for a moment. Jumping kick attempt from Moreno and then follows it up with wide punches and one lands well.
Leg kick for Figueiredo. Jab for him. Low kick from Moreno. Moreno ducking under punches. Jab for Figueiredo. Nice lead uppercut from Figueiredo, but Moreno lands too.
Nice punch in close from Figueiredo. Calf kick from Moreno. BOth land a jab. Cuffing left hands from Moreno and then a head kick attempt. Front kick from Moreno.
Figueiredo drops Moreno with a big overhand right and then tries to sink in a choke as the champion desperately reaches for his legs, but there’s only a couple of seconds of the round remaining.
Round Four:
Moreno still looks ok. Leg kick for Figueiredo. Spinning calf kick attempt from Moreno misses. Figueiredo fakes a takedown attempt and Moreno was biting on it.
Missed jab from Moreno as Figueiredo shows good defensive movement. Moreno with a nice inside leg kick and then tries that spinning low kick again.
Front kick to the body from Figueiredo. Moreno with a big swing and miss from a hook. Short flurry from Figueiredo mostly comes off the guard. Calf kick for Figueiredo.
Body kick for Moreno lands nicely. Figueiredo with a left hand but is knocked slightly off-balance by a kick from Moreno at the same time.
Jab for Moreno. Figueiredo looking to let his hands go, but Moreno gets there first.
Bit of a lull now. Figueiredo loads up on an overhand but misses. Moreno tries to let his hands go, but Figueiredo moves in and clinches up, moving around to his opponent’s back as he presses him into the cage.
Final minute of the round and Moreno breaks away from the clinch. Wild action as they both try to trade blows without making clean contact.
Kick from Moreno. Low kicks for Figueiredo. Figueiredo showboating a little and then Moreno barrels forward and shoves him off-balance as the round ends.
Round Five:
leg kick for Figueiredo. He misses an overhand left. Moreno gets the clinch and brings Figueiredo down. Figueiredo quickly scrambling though and gets back to his feet.
Jab for Figueiredo. Low kick for Figueiredo and Moreno lands a punch in response. Body punch for the champion. Swing and a miss from Moreno and Figueiredo almost gets him to the mat off that.
jab lands for Figueiredo. Now a jab and a left hook from Moreno. Figueiredo poised waiting for an opening to strike. He targets the body but misses.
Hard straight from Figueiredo floors Moreno for a brief moment, but he comes back up landing punches of his own. Moreno connects and Figueiredo has to reset. Figueiredo loads up on a big right, but comes up short.
Final minute of the fight now. Both men fighting at a measured pace for now, perhaps knowing how close the fight is at this point.
Another big punch from Figueiredo. He lands again and Moreno fires back. Now it’s Moreno who starts unleashing heavy leather and has Figueiredo a little staggered. Final seconds and they are both still slugging it out, but we’re going to have to take this to the judges to declare a winner.
Decision:
Another great fight between these two then and it was highly competitive from start to finish. Both men think they’ve done enough to win, but in the end the judges are unanimous in their decision and it’s Figueiredo who reclaims the title (48-47 x3).
Remarkably, after this trilogy it feels like the score has still not been fully settled and a fourth fight may well be in their future at some stage down the line.
