Urijah Faber explains new management relationship with UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo
LAS VEGAS – Urijah Faber is hoping he can make UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo happy with the business side of his career.
Recently, Figueiredo parted ways with longtime manager Wallid Ismail to join Faber and the team at VaynerSports, seeking larger paydays for his bouts in the UFC. Faber explained how he began his relationship with Figueiredo and how he plans to help him in the future.
“He came down for two of his camps and because of the beef with him and Cody (Garbrandt) at the time, and Cody was dropping down to 125, we had to kind of like say, ‘Hey man, for the time being, let’s set it off,’” Faber told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 2 grappling event. “But I really hit it off with him. I think when it comes to management, I was the same way, you have to find somebody you trust, and you have to find somebody that has seen the business.
“It’s one thing to just go with the shiny object, but I’ve got a great team behind me with VaynerSports and Lloyd Pierson, and their whole staff.”
Fabio Prado, who has been a coach throughout Faber’s career and has helped Faber with Brazilian fighters at Team Alpha Male, also has a good relationship with Figueiredo. While Faber will allow the management team to do what they do best, he will be there to implement his knowledge gained from over 20 years in the fight game.
“I’m happy to do my part,” Faber said. “I do stay in my lane. I will be doing my best to help him, guide him, give advice, but the Vayner group will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. But he has a relationship with me and Fabio Prado, who he trusts.”
Figueiredo recently announced the management change on social media. The flyweight champ is currently on the mend dealing with hand injuries that currently have him sidelined, but hopes this business change will help get him closer to what he wants financially when he is ready to return.
In the meantime, the UFC has decided to create an interim flyweight title bout between former champion Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France at UFC 277. When Figueiredo is healthy, he will know who he will have to face to unify the title.
Faber just wants Figueiredo to worry about being the best fighter he can possibly be, while he and the team at VaynerSports worry about the other side of things and handle the business relationship that came together in a quick fashion.
“This has been a very short-lived build-up to us coming to an agreement to help with his career, and the first thing when he got here when I talked to him, I said, ‘Hey man, worry about being the best guy on the planet,’” Faber said.” The UFC, they’re not dummies, they’re not snakes, they’re not anything. Keep the disgruntled stuff to yourself. Let it be motivation and then let the people who talk about that, talk about that.
The UFC will know whether he’s getting paid what he’s worth and they have to kind of recognize that. Fighters are going to be disgruntled, and the more money they get, they’re going to be more and more disgruntled because they don’t have more. Sometimes it feels like they’re getting slighted, and a lot of times they are, but at the end of the day, unless you have some sort of leverage at the point, you have to let the bygones be bygones. Because it wasn’t like he wasn’t like he was crooked into anything, he had management that got him into this position. Hopefully, we can help him get what he’s worth and he can continue to reign as the baddest dude on the planet.”
Urijah Faber explains new management relationship with UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo
