UFC champ Deiveson Figueiredo, former manager air grievances over pay after split

UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo’s split with longtime manager Wallid Ismail hasn’t been an amicable one.

Figueiredo (21-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) recently parted ways with Ismail over a contract dispute, telling MMA Fighting that Ismail became someone he no longer trusted.

For his most recent fight in January, Figueiredo earned a disclosed $150,000 after defeating Brandon Moreno at UFC 270 and deemed his purse as “embarrassing.” With the champion currently healing from injuries to both hands, the promotion opted to create an interim title fight between Moreno and Kai Kara-France, which takes place July 30 at UFC 277.

Ismail’s split with Figueiredo appeared cordial to start, but Ismail said Figueiredo told lies in an interview with Ag Fight. Because of this, Ismail has chosen to no longer bite his tongue by opening up on social media (h/t Sherdog).

“From the beginning, I didn’t want to speak out so as not to expose Deiveson,” Ismail said. “I had informed Deiveson that the UFC would (create) the interim belt if he couldn’t fight until July. The UFC was aware that he was injured. I have conversations with matchmakers informing (them) about the injury. He made a statement in the press saying that he would only like to fight Kai Kara France in October, although I asked him to fight Brandon Moreno again, as this would be the best fight for his career.

“He wants to look for someone to blame for his wrong decisions. I’m just speaking out because, although he apologized to me for lying that he didn’t know about the interim belt, now he’s back to lying, that I hadn’t warned the UFC about his injury. That’s a lack of character.”

He continued, “This vagabond has become a shameless bastard. First he lied saying that I hadn’t warned him about the interim belt (the bastard told me he didn’t care). The bastard apologized to me for lying. Now he’s telling another lie. You’re very naughty, Deiveson. I told the UFC that he was injured and could only fight in October. This b*stard asked me to say that.”

Seeking better pay, Figueiredo joined forces with Urijah Faber and Vayner Sports to manage his career moving forward. It’s unclear when Figueiredo will return to the cage.

Figueiredo is coming off a trilogy with Moreno in which the two men evenly split three matchups with a win apiece and one draw. Prior to this, Figueiredo was on a five-fight winning streak, which included his first title victory over Joseph Benavidez to claim the vacant 125-pound belt in July 2020.