Deiveson Figueiredo Proposes Interim Title Bout Against ‘Liar’ Joseph Benavidez

There's the tap!

Figueiredo locks up the guillotine for the first round submission at #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/1cidmeHbaP

— UFC (@ufc) October 12, 2019

Deiveson Figueiredo has accumulated one of the better resumes in the flyweight division thus far during his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure.

The Brazilian bolstered his record on Saturday night with a first-round submission of Tim Elliott in a preliminary 125-pound affair. The 31-year-old Marajo Brothers Team representative has now won six of his seven Octagon appearances and 17 of his 18 professional fights overall.

While reigning flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is targeting an early 2020 return from shoulder surgery, it remains unclear if he’ll compete at 125 or 135 pounds in his next appearance. Joseph Benavidez has been tabbed by UFC president Dana White as the flyweight No. 1 contender, but if Cejudo balks at defending that title, Figueiredo is more than ready to step in.

“The next one needs to be Benavidez. He was supposed to fight me last year, he thought I was afraid, but I was hurt and couldn’t take the fight,” Figueiredo said. “Now, I want Benavidez to pay for what he said. I want to knock him out so he can’t talk trash again, I want people to see that he is a liar. Why wouldn’t we do the interim belt now?”

Figueiredo was supposed to face Benavidez at UFC 233, but when that event was canceled, the matchup never got rescheduled. The Brazilian is not confident that Cejudo will return to the division anytime soon, which is why he has proposed the interim title fight.

“Cejudo isn’t going to come back until the middle of next year, fight me for the interim belt now. I can go as soon as Benavidez wants, when is he ready?” he said. “I am ready now. Next month, next year, whatever, I am ready. He can’t be scared after what he said, now is the time to prove who is afraid of who. This is the fight business, not the talk business, so let’s fight.”