Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo will fight to claim the vacant flyweight title for a second time on July 18th at a destination still to be confirmed.
The first encounter between these two took place in February, with Figueiredo winning by a second round TKO, but there were complications as he had come in overweight for the bout and as such was ineligble to claim the title, while he also landed an unintentional headbutt immediately before the fight-winning punch.
As such there was an immediate call for a rematch in the aftermath of the fight, and with the title still waiting to be claimed, the UFC has agreed to run the fight back again.
Prior to his loss Benavidez had been on a three-fight winning streak in the division, having defeated Alex Perez, Dustin Ortiz and Jussier Formiga.
Meanwhile, the TKO stoppage of Benavidez was Figueiredo’s third win in a row, having also emerged victorious against Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott.
As things stand, the UFC 251 pay-per-view event is planned for July 11th, so it’s likely that Figueiredo vs Benavidez II would then headline a Fight Night event the following week, but due to the ongoing coronavirus situation things could change in the coming days and weeks ahead.
