Outside Source
Deiveson Figueiredo is coming off back-to-back losses in the UFC. | Getty/UFC
After suffering losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen, Deiveson Figueiredo returns to the Octagon at UFC Rio on Saturday to face his first unranked opponent since joining the promotion in 2017.
Having completed his entire training camp at Pitbul Brothers in Natal, Deiveson made a point of being the first member of the roster to arrive at the fighter hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Speaking to Sherdog on Monday, the former UFC flyweight champion revealed that he had arrived on Saturday to better adapt.
“You have to enjoy the wonderful city a little,” he said. “Jokes aside, I fought my last fight with a broken jaw, [and spent] Monday and Tuesday of fight week with a fever due to a leg infection. I took antibiotics and anti-inflammatories to fight, and by the first round I was dead. I actually only fought out of respect for the UFC and the fans; after all, it was the main event. I suffered my second consecutive loss, so I focused a lot and wanted to do everything right in this camp to bounce back.”
Figueiredo is promising a return to form against Montel Jackson.
“I did the entire camp at Pitbull Brothers; the resources there are excellent,” he said. “I trained hard for this fight with Leandro Higo, who is a guy who pushed me a lot in training. If I was less than 50% last time, this time I’m at 220%. You can expect that on Saturday you’ll see a different Figueiredo.”
Figueiredo Hopes to Return to Contention with Impressive Win
According to Figueiredo, the fact that the American isn’t ranked only made him train even harder.
“He’s already proven himself to be extremely tough, and it’s no coincidence that he’s on a six-fight winning streak,” Figueiredo said. “I’m sure an impressive victory over him will only prove that I do deserve to fight for the belt. After all, I’m the only top fighter in the division who hasn’t faced Merab. On Saturday, I’ll be 220% ready to get a knockout or submission. I’m not one to leave a fight in the hands of the judges, especially fighting with the support of my fans.”
Although Jackson has won eight of his 15 fights by knockout, Deiveson made it clear that he knows how to beat the American.
“Montel is a very patient guy,” Figueiredo said. “Despite coming from a wrestling background, we don’t see him as having good takedown defense or good jiu-jitsu. My team doesn’t see good boxing, either. And in the Top 5, everyone is well-rounded. If you look at all the opponents I’ve faced in my last 12 fights, they were top fighters in both divisions. So I’m here to test him and see if he deserves to be in that group.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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