After already having had two fights in a row against Brandon Moreno, former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is now demanding an immediate trilogy fight with the new king of the division.
Figueiredo clearly came off second best on Saturday night at UFC 263, with Moreno dictating the action on the feet and the mat before tapping him out in the third round to become the new champion.
However, Figueiredo points to the fact that their first fight only went to a majority draw due to the fact he was deducted a point for an accidental groin strike, and also claims he wasn’t feeling well on the night of the rematch as reasons to run the bout back for a third time.
“I left the hotel feeling very bad,” Figueiredo told Combate. “I knew it wasn’t my day, but I gave it into God’s hands, and going to the octagon I said, ‘Lord, yours will be done.’ I got in there, I didn’t really fight like I (can).”
“I really want to immediately ask for a rematch with Dana and I hope to be (obliged) because I won the first fight and even so they took a point from me and they decided to draw to give the second fight. And now I want the trilogy. He got my belt, the first one I won and we’re going to fight this third fight now to take the fight off.”
Figueiredo says he just needs four months to be able to prepare properly and then he’ll be ready to lock horns with Moreno for a third time.
“He’s to be congratulated. It was his night. He certainly trained very well for this fight and today was not my day. But I want the trilogy, I want this fight to happen.
“Now I just want to go back home and train again just right, to really show who I am, the real owner of the belt. I only want four months, that’s when I’m going to stabilize. My gym is changing, all this is a process that kind of messed up my training, but now I want to go back, get everything right and be able to win the belt again.”
However, despite his apparent eagerness to regain the title, Figueiredo has also hinted that due to some rough weight cuts in recent times, he may be eyeing a move up to bantamweight before long.
“I always have a problem making weight, brother, and it happened the same thing this time,” Figueiredo told mmafighting.com. “I almost didn’t make weight, it was quite complicated, it really was. Maybe that was it, it made me slow, but I felt I was doing well in the fight. I just couldn’t find myself, and when I was about to, he took my back and submitted me, something I didn’t expect.”
“I think about moving up, but in order to make that decision, I have to go back home and sit down with my team and talk about it and make the best decision,” Figueiredo added. “I have to go back home and talk to my team.”
