Deveison Figueiredo retained his flyweight title tonight at UFC 256, but only courtesy of a majority draw after a very hard fought five round battle against Brandon Moreno.
Round One:
Spinning kick to the body immediately from Figueiredo. Hard punch from Figueiredo. However, Moreno then lands one of his own.
Figueiredo in on an early takedown attempt, but Moreno stops that and then works for a takedown of his own. He gets Figueiredo down, but they scramble and Figueiredo is able to get back up.
Back to striking range then. Moreno with a jab. Heavy body punch for Figueiredo. Right hand for Figueiredo. Moreno connects to the body.
Grazing right hand from Figueiredo. Head kick attempt from Moreno. Thunderous left to the body from Figueiredo. Moreno not afraid to let his hands go either.
Hard jab from Figueiredo snapped Moreno’s head back, but he seems ok. Head kick attempt whistles past Figueiredo’s head, but Moreno over-reached on that and falls to the mat. Figueiredo standing over him, but Moreno grabs his ankle and knocks him off-balance and then gets upright.
Right hand for Figueiredo. Now a front kick to the body. Another connection for Figueiredo, but Moreno lands to the body.
Jab for Moreno. Right hook for Figueiredo. Moreno with a punch. Moreno puts a head kick behind a jab. He’s getting close with those.
Figueiredo with a body punch and then an elbow. Hard right hgand for Figueiredo. Jab from Moreno. Figueiredo is just walking him down with little regard for Moreno’s offense, but the challenger is a game opponent and hasn’t wilted under the pressure so far.
Round Two:
Punch to the chest from Moreno. He threatens with an overhand. Front kick upstairs from Figueiredo just misses. He lands a spinning kick to the body though.
Moreno lands a solid punch. Outside leg kick for the champion. Jab from Moreno. Another hard outside leg kick from Figueiredo.
left hand to the body from Moreno. Solid right for Figueiredo and then a flurry of punches behind it. Moreno to the body again.
Solid jab for Figueiredo. Leg kick for him. Figueiredo with an elbow, but then Moreno lands a takedown. Figueiredo attempting to get back up quickly, but in doing so he inadvertently pokes Moreno in the eye and that forces a stoppage.
Moreno able to start the fight back up from on top in Figueiredo’s guard. Figueiredo does well to quickly scramble back to his feet. Moreno firing off punches and Figueiredo responds in kind.
Good left hand for Figueiredo. Both fighters throwing fakes. Kick for Figueiredo. Punch lands nicely for Moreno.
Outside leg kick from Figueiredo. leg kick for Moreno and then a jab. Figueiredo taking his time. He lands a flurry and Moreno seems a bit troubled. However he works a takedown to take the pressure off. It’s hard to keep Figueiredo down though and he’s soon back up on his feet again as the round draws to a conclusion with more hard strikes being thrown. FIgueiredo landed a powerful blow there right at the end and Moreno’s eye is swelling.
Round Three:
Hard punches exchanged and Figueiredo got the better of it. Moreno with a kick. Body punch from Figueiredo. Reaching jab from Figueiredo.
Crushing right hand to the body from Figueiredo and then a hard punch upstairs too, but Moreno is still there.
Figueiredo with a kick to the body. Moreno clinches up and tries for the takedown, but has to settle for pressing Figueiredo up against the cage.
Figueiredo pushes him away. Jab for Moreno. Spinning back kick to the body from Figueiredo. Jab for Moreno and misses a head kick.
Powerful body punch again from Figueiredo. Left hook for Moreno. Elbow for the champion and Moreno lands a strike of his own.
left hook for Figueiredo. Moreno has a great chin. He lands a couple of punches. Front Kick from Figueiredo lands hard to the groin with a sickening sound as it hits the cup and he crumples to the mat.
Long stoppage here and at one point Moreno is coughing and almost sseems like he might be sick, but then he toughs it out and is ready to fight again. The ref takes a point away from Figueiredo though!
Back to it. As they start to exchange Figueiredo lands a nice single leg takedown. He goes to north-south position. Moreno gets to his feet and they strike again, with Figueiredo landing an uppercut.
leg kick for Moreno. Inside leg kick for Figueiredo. overhand right for Moreno. Nice short left hand from Figueiredo as Moreno also connects. Head kick attempt from Figueiredo misses.
Round Four:
Flying knee to the body from Figueiredo. Hard jab to the jaw from him. Another short left for the champion. Big punch for Figueiredo, but then a hard two-piece combo from Moreno.
Moreno with another clean connection. Now a head kick attempt that Figueiredo appeared to block, but seems a bit unsteady from afterwards.
However, Figueiredo then lands a right hand and goes for a takedown. Moreno counters though and it’s him who ends up landing the takedown. Big moment for him.
Figueiredo scrambling here an does get back up landing a right hand. Body-head combo for Figueiredo. Now a hard uppercut and another punch behind it.
Lead elbow for Figueiredo. Moreno lands a series of punches and Figueiredo seems rocked, but throws anyway, off-balance. Crazy fight.
jab for Figueiredo. Right hand for Figueiredo and Moreno clocks him. jab for Figueiredo. Jab for Moreno. Jab now for Figueiredo.
Solid right hand for Figueiredo then a hard one straight to the body and head. However Moreno lands another takedown. Final minute of the round.
Figueiredo tries to kick off Moreno but can’t quite get him off. However he does then manage to stand up, but is greeted by more strikes by Moreno.
Round Five:
Cautious start to the final round. Figueiredo goes for a head kick, but it’s blocked. Again he goes for the kick.
Good right and a left from Figueiredo. Cuffing left hook for the champion. Wild punch from Figueiredo misses.
There’s a lull in the action. Figueiredo finally steps in with a left hand. Hard left to the body for the champion. Jab from Moreno.
Left hook for Figueiredo. Jab for Moreno. A minute left and surprising lack of urgency from Figueiredo given how close this fight is. Good straight right for Moreno. He clinches up against the cage looking to ride out the final 30 seconds.
Quick punch to the head for Moreno. Figueiredo able to bundle Moreno to the mat and lands a few punches as the round comes to a close.
Decision:
Incredibly intense, closely fought action from start to finish then and in the judges eyes it was so close that it ends in a majority draw ruling (47-46, 47-47 x2). It’s worth bearing in mind that the outcome factors in a point deduction for Figueiredo’s illegal groin strike.
Credit to both fighters for such a great bout, but Moreno in particular does deserve plaudits for such a battling performance in a match-up he was expected to lose.
