After a potential fight of the year in the UFC’s final pay-per-view of 2020, it appears flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and top contender Brandon Moreno will run it back.
In a Q&A on ESPN+, a fan asked which rematch will most likely occur from 2020’s Fight of the Year candidates.
UFC president Dana White was quick to guarantee a rematch between the two top flyweights.
“I mean, that’s obviously the first one that you will see and the guaranteed rematch you will see this year,” White said.
How we arrived at the Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno rematch
Figueiredo is coming off an extremely successful year in 2020.
His first fight of this past year was supposed to be a title shot against perennial flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez in late February.
But due to Figueiredo missing weight for that fight, his second-round TKO was overshadowed by his ineligibility to win the title.
Despite his misfortunes early in the year, Figueiredo redeemed himself in a rematch, finishing Benavidez in the first round with another dominant performance to win the flyweight strap on UFC Fight Island in July.
His momentum did not stop there.
Figueiredo defeated Alex Perez with relative ease in his first title defense, submitting him by way of guillotine in the first round at UFC 255.
He then had an unprecedented three-week turnaround for his second title defense, engaging in the aforementioned Fight of the Year contender with Moreno at UFC 256.
Moreno’s ascension to flyweight title contention was a little more complicated, however.
After a successful run on “The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions” and two wins with the company after the TUF season, the UFC handed Moreno his walking papers in 2018 after a two fight skid.
Moreno returned to the promotion following a flyweight title victory in LFA, needing just four fights to receive a title shot in his second stint with the UFC.
White forecasted the flyweight title rematch for April or May.
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Dana White guarantees Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno rematch