‘Invade Brasilia’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will make its return to Rio de Janeiro later this month for the UFC 283 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., Jan. 21, 2023 inside Jeunesse Arena in Brazil. The co-main event will feature UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo taking on interim 125-pound titleholder Brandon Moreno.

Figueiredo has been an outspoken supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as the recent insurrection at Brazil’s presidential palace, congress and supreme court. In addition, “Deus da Guerra” was sharing social media messages that read “Invade Brasilia” while calling for the military to “support president Bolsonaro in the fight for democracy and freedom.”

Brazilian reporter Lucas Rezende opines at Bloody Elbow:

Being an influential figure in the MMA community, the way Figueiredo irresponsibly shares these images and requests them to be forwarded could convince others that this line of thinking is an act of resistance, instead of an insult to the voting process and Brazilian democracy. It could be argued that these messages also incite dangerous, and criminal, acts.

From 1964 to 1985, Brazil was under a military dictatorship which was marked by censorship, persecution, torture and the deaths of many who dared to oppose it. Bolsonaro is a former captain of the Brazilian army who glorifies those days and has openly regarded them as better times than the democracy state that has followed. He has gone so far as call a former torturer one of his heroes.

Most of Bolsonaro’s supporters agree with those conservative, far-right views and this is why they have been asking for the Brazilian Armed Forces to take action.

Bolsonaro is currently holed up inside Jose Aldo’s vacation home in Florida.

Figueiredo (21-2-1) and Moreno (20-6-2) battled to a draw on the UFC 256 card in late 2020, then ran it back at UFC 263 the following June. That’s where Moreno captured a submission win over “Daico” — only to come up on the losing end of a unanimous decision in their UFC 270 trilogy earlier this year. “The Assassin Baby” was later awarded the interim title by stopping Kai Kara France at UFC 277, a bout that was hastily assembled when Figueiredo took leave due to injury.

With any luck, UFC 283 will provide a conclusive ending to their longstanding rivalry. Waiting in the wings in No. 2-ranked flyweight contender Alexandre “The Cannibal” Pantoja, as well as Brandon “Raw Dog” Royval, currently sitting in the No. 4 slot.

For the rest of the UFC 283 fight card and PPV lineup click here.