LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White wants to book an immediate rematch between “absolute (expletive)” savages Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno after UFC 256.
Figueiredo (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) put on an all-time title fight in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. They fought to a majority draw in an epic back-and-forth battle.
Both men went through tremendous punishment in the five-round contest, but the result begged a second fight to decide a conclusive winner. White agreed to as much, and said he intends to put them back in the octagon as soon as possible.
“We’ve got to give these guys some time off – but you absolutely, positively do that rematch,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 256. “That’s another fun fight for us all to look forward to in 2021.”
As far as the fight itself, White said he thought the result should’ve been different. He pointed to a point deduction against Figueiredo that came after a low blow as the reason for the draw.
“I had Figueiredo winning the fight,” White said. “(After) the point deduction, the whole fight turned. Moreno started coming on stronger. He probably won that round without the point deduction. That’s when the whole fight started to turn.”
It’s unknown when the rematch between Figueiredo and Moreno will happen. White said both men can “take as much time as they need” after two bouts in 21 days.
The initial bout was a memorable way to close the UFC’s 2020 title fight schedule, though. It already is being discussed as a potential “Fight of the Year,” alongside the brutal UFC 248 title bout between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
White didn’t give a definitive opinion on the best UFC bout of the year, but said both were tremendous fights.
“Joanna and Weili was really good, too,” White said. “It was just so long ago people need to remember how really damn good that fight was.”
Dana White after UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno rematch ‘absolutely, positively’ next
