UFC Fight Island 2: What happened the first time Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez fought?
By Ivan Surlina
What happened the first time Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez fought?
UFC Fight Island 2 will showcase a fourth world title fight in a one-week span, with the vacant flyweight belt once again up for grabs this Saturday. No. 1 contender Deiveson Figueiredo takes on No. 2 contender Joseph Benavidez in what will be a rematch of their first meeting at UFC Norfolk in February. After former double champion Henry Cejudo vacated his flyweight world title, the UFC put together Figueiredo vs. Benavidez in order to get the division back on track and crown a new champion. But as we know now, things don’t always go the way you plan.
Coming into the bout, Benavidez (28-6) was the slight favorite at -155, with Figueiredo (18-1) coming back at +125. However, on the day of weigh-ins, Figueiredo ended up missing weight, coming in 127.5 lb. Now 2.5 pounds over the flyweight limit, Figueiredo became ineligible to win the vacant flyweight title, making it only a title fight for Benavidez. Following the weight debacle, Benavidez did not have to take the fight, but it would be incredibly tough to turn down a shot at winning the title that has long eluded you.
Here’s how Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez 1 went down.
In the beginning of the first round Figueiredo was able to take Benavidez down and was even close to securing an armbar. But being the scrambler that Benavidez is, he was able to maneuver out of there and get back to his feet. Benavidez was able to land the more effective strikes in round one, with all three judges scoring the first round 10-9 in his favor. However, round two would be quite the opposite. Just over ninety seconds into the round we got our first head clash, with Benavidez coming out of the exchange with a gash on his head that would immediately begin to bleed down his face. Not even five seconds later did Figueiredo hunt down Benavidez and land a vicious straight right that put him out. Figueiredo followed up with a few strikes for good measure but Benavidez was already out. Benavidez later protested that the clash of heads is what hurt him and believes Figueiredo actually caused the headbutt that opened the cut on his forehead. Controversy aside, they will now have the chance to make things right and see who the better man is come fight night.
Now 0-3 in UFC title fights, this will most likely be Benavidez’s last chance at UFC gold. A win for either fighter would put them in elite company as being one of only three flyweight champions in the promotion’s history. Tune in to Saturday’s main event on ESPN+ to see how the story unfolds and who will be the next UFC flyweight champion.
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