Deiveson Figueiredo vs Tim Elliott
Brazil has not had a male fighter be the UFC championship since Jose Aldo lost it to Max Holloway in June of 2017. Once renowned for turning out championship level fighters like Anderson Silva, Fabricio Werdum, JDS, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida, Renan Barao, Rafael Dos Anjos, Vitor Belfort, and others, has had to rely on women - Cris Cyborg, Amanda Nunes, and Jessica Andrade - to carry UFC gold back to Brazil. In fact, there were only two male Brazilian fighters to challenge for gold in 2019 (Marlon Moraes and Thiago Santos).
But, Deiveson Figueiredo (17-1) has the opportunity to turn all of that around. The Brazilian flyweight has been an absolute terror in the division, going 6-1 in the UFC while stopping 4 of his opponents. Figueiredo’s obscene athleticism, strength, and power make him a tough physical match up for basically everyone at 125lbs.
He will get the toughest test of his career when he faces off with one of the best lower-weight fighters of all time in Joseph Benavidez (28-5) for the vacant UFC Flyweight title this Saturday (Feb. 29) in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 27: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo.