Could we see Deiveson Figueiredo hold both the UFC Flyweight and Featherweight Championship soon?
The newly crowned 125-pound champion is coming off a dominating victory over Joseph Benavidez and is currently in the midst of a strong four-fight winning streak. In fact, Figueiredo has only suffered one loss in his career thus far, which was against Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night 148.
Still, the fighter has been a dominant force in the flyweight division and a super fight against Alexander Volkanski – who’s also a strong force in the featherweight division – would surely be an exciting bout. Following his big victory over Benavidez Saturday, Figueiredo expressed his interest in fighting the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion sometime in future (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“Now that I have the belt, I have to train very hard,” Figueiredo said. “I’m the guy that everyone wants to beat, so I’m the guy everyone is looking at. I’m a guy who doesn’t give up ever, so I had to overcome all those hurdles to get here. It was something I had to do.
“I will accept a superfight if they want to give me one. I’ll move up to 135. I want to be a two-division champion but I’m going to defend this belt as well.”
While there’s no confirmed challengers for the flyweight title right now, Figueiredo would surely like to step into the octagon against one of the longest reigning champions in the company’s history, Demetrious Johnson, who’s currently competing in ONE Championship:
“That’s definitely a fight that all the fans would want to see – me against Demetrious Johnson,” Figueiredo said. “If the UFC wants to bring him back, I’m going to be very happy. I’m going to knock him out and with a lot of pride. I’m very happy to do that.”