In a night full of flyweight action, one stood out above the rest. Deiveson Figueiredo is leaving Fight Island with the gold and a list of potential title challengers.
Deiveson Figueiredo dominated Joseph Benavidez to cap off the third main event on Fight Island and become the UFC flyweight champion. The first-round finish featured a tremendous display of striking power, grappling and ultimately a successful submission. Benavidez showed incredible heart, surviving multiple rear-naked choke attempts, but he couldn’t figure out a way to avoid Figuereido’s grasp.
Figueiredo may be the only man walking away with gold on Saturday, but he was far from the only standout on the night. There were a number of spectacular finishes, including devastating kicks, triangles, a kneebar and more. There were also rising prospects who made statements, and a few surprises.
Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Phil Murphy react to the biggest moments from UFC Fight Night, including Jack Hermansson’s heel hook win over Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event.
Murphy on Figueiredo: After missing weight for his title shot in February, Figueiredo’s dream scenario played out Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Three options stand out for Figueiredo’s first true defense, in order of the UFC flyweight rankings: Brandon Moreno, Alex Perez and Askar Askarov. Recency bias — which is real in combat sports — tips Askarov, who opened the main card Saturday with an eye-opening win over Alexandre Pantoja. For me, though, I’ll pick Moreno for two reasons.
First, “The Assassin Baby” was unlucky to draw Askarov when the two met September in Mexico City. In a sport in which “robbery” gets bandied about for every close decision, Moreno was robbed; he should have won that fight.
Every bit as important, Moreno presents a stand-and-trade stylistic matchup against the aggressive Figueiredo that will make fans salivate. Book it as a pay-per-view co-main or cable main event. Then, go ahead and make out the Fight of the Night bonus checks to those two. They’ll earn it.
Raimondi on Benavidez: I have a policy to not ever say if a fighter should retire. Simply, this is how fighters choose to make a living and if there is a promoter who is willing to pay them to continue to compete, then more power to them. I can’t fault it. Sometimes, there are cases that get uncomfortable, like when a fighter has gotten knocked out too many times. That is not an issue here at all. Benavidez is still one of the best flyweight fighters in the world, like he has been for about a decade.
At 35 years old and with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone, Benavidez could step away right now and everyone would understand. “Joe B” is one of the most beloved fighters on the roster, by the fans and his peers. Benavidez is also an intelligent guy and could do any number of things in the future. His idea to showcase fighter fashion has led to a popular social media following for his brand Dapper Scrappers.
If he does want to fight again, great. Someone like Brandon Moreno would provide a great opponent, seeing as he’s one of the few elite flyweights who Benavidez has not already beaten.
Murphy on Jack Hermansson: Hermansson’s heel hook not only gets the Scandinavian back in the win column but it leaves him fresh for a turnaround at his leisure — fortunately for Hermansson, he absorbed 0 significant strikes. Unfortunately, the result complicates the top-tier at 185 pounds.
It’s not quite as simple as the Joker laid out in his postfight conversation with Paul Felder.
Former champ Robert Whittaker and Darren Till meet in next week’s main event. The winner puts himself in the middleweight No. 1 contender conversation. Jared Cannonier — who knocked out Hermansson last September — is also waiting in the wings.
There’s no incentive for Cannonier to face Hermansson right now, nor do I foresee the Whittaker-Till winner looking down the ladder to the dangerous Norwegian-Swede. The loser of Whittaker-Till makes a lot more sense. It provides him opportunity for a quality rebound, and Hermansson can prove he truly belongs among the division’s elite.
Wagenheim on Kelvin Gastelum: After his third straight loss, Gastelum needs a confidence builder. Where’s he going to find it? Probably not in the top 10. Gastelum came in at No. 7 in ESPN’s middleweight rankings, ahead of Hermansson, “Jacare” Souza (whom Gastelum has already defeated) and Bellator fighter Rafael Lovato Jr.
So where can he go but farther downward? Maybe Gastelum should fight the winner of next weekend’s meeting between veteran Derek Brunson and young Edmen Shahbazyan — putting Gastelum in either a gatekeeper bout or a showdown of rebuilding 185-pounders.
