Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo was left disheartened when he didn’t receive a bonus award for his first round submission victory over Alex Perez in the main event of UFC 255, but Dana White has since made amends.
“He was real disappointed when he didn’t get the bonus of the night because of the performance that he gave for the fans,” Figueiredo’s trainer and manager, Wallid Ismail explained after the fight. “And I pushed him to stay here and not come back to Brazil, because Dec. 12 is now.
“But I’m going to talk to Dana and Hunter (Campbell) and I’m going to push him to stay because it’s good for the fight, it’s good for the sport to show his power.”
Ismail’s talk literally paid off as Figueiredo has since been invited to speak with White and the UFC brass, where he was unexpectedly handed a bag filled with cash – the $50,000 bonus he had missed out on Saturday night.
Needless to say it was a happy moment for Figueiredo, and it was definitely a smart play for the UFC to do so as they were in dire need of a new main event for December’s UFC 256 show after two other title fights fell through recently.
Luckily Figueiredo has accepted the opportunity to step up to the plate again quickly and will now front the event against Brandon Moreno.
