Deiveson Figueiredo believes his UFC 300 victory over Cody Garbrandt warrants a title shot next.
After going toe-to-toe in a close first round, Figueiredo dominated Garbrandt on the ground en route to a rear-naked choke submission in Round 2. Making his case for a title shot next, the 36-year-old noted that he handed the former bantamweight champ the first submission loss of his professional career.
“Cody, he’s a former champion, a magnificent guy, you know, he’s a really big name here,” Figueiredo said during a post-fight media scrum (via YouTube translation). “And I’ve never seen anyone submit Cody Garbrandt, and today I came and dominated the fight against him and I submitted him. And I really hope to have this opportunity to fight for the belt.”
While Figueiredo called for a title shot next, No.1 contender Merab Dvalishvili is expected to get his long overdue title shot against Sean O'Malley sometime later this year. The Brazilian doesn’t appear to have a preference between those two.
“I’m a 100% ready to fight again, be it Sean O'Malley, be it Merab [Dvalishvili], whoever it is, whatever Dana decide I’m gonna be in,” Figueiredo said.
“Deus da Geurra” also shot down a suggested matchup against former champ Petr Yan, who recently returned to the win column with a decision win over Yadong Song after a three-fight losing streak against elite competition. Figueiredo also doubled down on his claims of being robbed in his controversial doctor stoppage loss against Brandon Moreno in their quadrilogy clash at UFC 283 in January 2023.
“No, I’m former champion in another division,” he said. “I’m coming up and winning in this division, and I want to fight for the championship. The fight against Moreno, there was a mistake in my view, so I think I deserve to fight for the championship next.”
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