Deiveson Figueiredo has the ability to make opponents pay for the smallest mistakes.
Last October at UFC on ESPN+ 19, Tim Elliott found this out the hard way. A former UFC flyweight title challenger, Elliott shot for an ill-advised takedown and paid for it.
After almost three minutes of a feeling-out process, Elliott tried to drag the fight to the ground. However, Figueiredo swiftly snatched hold of Elliott’s neck. No matter how much Elliott strained, he couldn’t escape. Moments later, the American tapped. The win was Figueiredo’s second straight and fourth finish under the UFC banner.
Not only did the victory turn a win into a winning streak, it propelled Figueiredo (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) into a title matchup against multi-time challenger Joseph Benavidez (28-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC).
Saturday, the two flyweights will square off for the promotion’s vacated 125-pound title in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 27. Before they go head-to-head, relive Figueiredo’s first-round submission over Elliott in the full fight video above.
UFC on ESPN+ 27 takes place Saturday at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. The card streams on ESPN+.
Check out the full UFC on ESPN+ 27 lineup below:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for vacant flyweight title
- Zarah Fairn vs. Felicia Spencer
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
- Megan Anderson vs. Norma Dumont
- Grant Dawson vs. Darrick Minner
- Kyler Phillips vs. Gabriel Silva
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
- Brendan Allen vs. Tom Breese
- Steve Garcia vs. Luis Pena
- Serghei Spivac vs. Marcin Tybura
- TJ Brown vs. Jordan Griffin
- Spike Carlyle vs. Aalon Cruz
- Sean Brady vs. Ismail Naurdiev
