I've been so distracted by football that I nearly forgot that there is a decent UFC event happening tomorrow! UFC 270 goes down tomorrow night in Anaheim, California.
In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno will be fighting Deiveson Figueiredo for the Men's Flyweight Championship (125 pounds). I'm not even sure if I should call this fight a rubber match or not, but this will be the third time in a row these men will fight for the belt. The reason for my confusion is because, these men are not actually 1-1 against each other. They fought to a draw in December 2020 when Figueiredo was the champion. That fight was absolute utter madness! Despite the tie, Figueiredo did indeed defend his belt that evening. A fight like that, pretty much guarantees a re-match for the challenger.
Figueiredo pictured left, Moreno on the right.
Here is that first BATTLE!!
Indeed, six months later in June 2021, these two warriors would fight again, this time Moreno got the decisive, clear victory by sinking in a rear-naked choke in round three! Moreno looked super improved and focused in this fight, he really seemed to have the better gameplan. It was an incredible moment for Moreno as he became the champion!
Here is that second BATTLE!!
Man, the UFC is clutch for having both of these fights on YouTube!!
These two fighters seem to match up perfectly, and when they get in that cage, man it is chaos. After the dominant Demetrious Johnson era and then the brief, but exciting mini Henry Cejudo era, this rivalry between Moreno and Figueiredo is really pretty fascinating. It feels like I'm watching a movie when these two are in the cage.
Figueiredo and Moreno's styles just clash beautifully, but what makes it magical is their one similarity, these two are DOGS. Just tough and gritty and pretty well-rounded.
Moreno feels like the favorite going into this one, but man I don't know for sure.
Moreno is a fascinating fighter to me, I really admire what he brings to the octagon. He seems very tactical and smart in there. He seems very professional, and fundamentally sound. He always looks comfortable in the cage, like he's working a cashier at a grocery store and not fighting another grown man. Moreno has great composure, he's just super smart and slick.
Figueiredo on the other hand is a BEAST of a 125 pounder. He is probably bigger than ninety-five of all the other flyweights. This guy is hyper aggressive but not like in a wild way. He is all power, but also pretty accurate. He is a really good athlete with apparent and obvious good hand-eye coordination. He is really a handful in there.
In this matchup, Figueiredo definitely has the power advantage, it's just natural for him. Moreno has some very respectable power too, but his is more of a timing power, just in comparison to Figueiredo.
I've noticed on social media leading up to the fight, that Moreno got a bit bulkier in this matchup, which I think is good. Moreno had a lot of success vs Figueiredo in the last fight, but you have to assume your opponent is going to come back hungrier, more skilled, and with a new gameplan. I like to see it, Figueiredo is a big dude for the weight class.
Figueiredo on the other hand needs to just be himself in my opinion. I think in the last fight he was trying to match Moreno skill for skill, tactic for tactic too much. I could almost see on Figueiredo's facial expression's that he was thinking too much, at least that's my opinion. Moreno has tremendous IQ, but I think Figueiredo should just let his hands go and bully Moreno while hopefully leaning on learned skills from training camp. Hopefully those skills are just muscle memory or something LOL.
What did Mike Tyson say?
So yeah, I believe Figueiredo should take Tyson's approach, while Moreno should continue to adopt his cerebral, Floyd Mayweather/Jon Jones style.
Also, Figueiredo should try to keep the fight standing, don't try grappling with Moreno. Figueiredo is a strong dude, with some wrestling training I feel like he should be able to keep Moreno off him.
What do I know though? I'm just a dude with a blog LOL.
How do you see this fight playing out?
I think the smart choice would be Moreno in this one, but man these two fought twice already, I honestly don't know what to expect!
Football AND UFC fights? I'm READY!!
