Johnson Pumps Brakes On Figueiredo Bandwagon

Deiveson Figueiredo has injected new life into the UFC flyweight division.

Probably because “Daico” (20-1) is one of the few champions willing to fight as often as possible, cramming in four fights since last February, all four of which have ended by way of knockout or submission.

Figueiredo’s rise to the top of the 125-pound mountain could not have come at a more opportune time, with both Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo — widely considered the top two flyweights in the world over the last couple of years — parting ways with the promotion.

But maybe we need to pump the brakes on all that GOAT talk.

“Only time will tell if the hype is real,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “Do I think he’s a good athlete? 1,000 percent. But I need to see him fight more different styles and different athletes and the caliber of different guys. Then that’s when he’ll live up to the hype. A guy like Jon Jones, he’s beat (expletive) everybody, even on cocaine and testing positive and whatever. He still beat you.”

Figueiredo, 32, will face off against Brandon Moreno in the UFC 256 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (Dec. 12, 2020) inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. A successful title defense could lead to a Cody Garbrandt fight at some point in early 2021.

“I would like to see [Figueiredo] fight a Henry Cejudo or see him fight someone who is game and is able to win,” Johnson said. “Alex Perez got caught in that choke, he just stood up. He should’ve hand fight, do the correct things to get out of it. That’s the thing: Only time will tell. Only time’s going to tell. When I fought Joseph Benavidez the first time, I beat him up. Then we fought the second time and I knocked him out.”

For what it’s worth, Figueiredo destroyed Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 169, then again at UFC Fight Island 2.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 256 click here.