Manager: Figgy Gets PPV Points Approved

A little under a week ago, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, revealed that despite being a title holder for the promotion he wasn’t get a cut of the pay-per-view (PPV) sales.

According to his manager, Wallid Ismail, that is no longer the case. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Ismail revealed that “Daico” will now get PPV points moving forward as the promotion’s Flyweight champion.

“I remember as it was today,” Ismail said. “I told [UFC matchmaker] Mick Maynard, ‘This guy will bring back the power to the flyweight division. He fights to kill his opponents, not to score points.’ And he trusted us and kept the division. Deiveson started to put on a show, and this last fight was his coronation,” he said.

“The guy was sick and still fought so the pay-per-view wouldn’t lose its main event. It was a draw, but saw it as a win for us, and now they said he deserves the pay-per-view [points]. The UFC really values a complete athlete, one that sells. You can’t be good but not sell. That’s why selling matters so much. That’s what I always tell my athletes.”

Indeed, Figueiredo came down with an illness the night before UFC 256 where he was set to defend his title against Brandon Moreno. Instead of pulling out of the bout, “Daico” toughed it out and went on to go 25 minutes against “Assassin Baby” the next day in one of the best fights of the year which ultimately ended up a majority draw (highlights).

And let’s not forget that Figuieredo agreed to face Moreno just three weeks after knocking out Alex Perez. It’s moves such as those that not only earned him his points, but some newfound respect and admiration from the powers that be.

As far as his comeback fight, Ismail says “Daico” is targeting a return in May, which could be a rematch against Moreno.