Rob Font angles to introduce Deiveson Figueiredo to UFC bantamweight division

MIAMI – Rob Font isn’t one to usually call his shots. But when he looks at the puzzle of the bantamweight division and where he fits after his UFC 287 win, an arriving contender comes to mind as a viable next matchup.

“I would love to do ‘Figgy’ vs. Font, man. (Deiveson Figueiredo), I’d love to introduce him to the 135 division,” Font told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday at Kaseya Center. “I think that’d be a fun fight. I think I like fighting big names. I definitely don’t want to fight backward, but I think me and him could definitely be a great fight. …

“He’s a former champ. He’s exciting. I know he’s going to talk a lot of sh*t. I think it’d be a great, entertaining type of fight, and I think I need another big name like that.”

Font (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) snapped a two-fight skid Saturday when he knocked out Adrian Yanez (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) midway through Round 1 of their bantamweight fight on the pay-per-view main card. Font said the win, his first since May 2021, was a much-needed reminder to the division that he’s still a top contender.

“I think I had something to prove to myself,” Font said. “Obviously I needed that for myself. I needed to remind myself that I’m still here. I’m still that guy. If I get going on anybody, that’s what’s going to happen to everybody.”

Should he get what he asked for, Font will be Figueiredo’s first UFC opponent at bantamweight. Figueiredo is a former UFC flyweight champion, who recently completed a tetralogy with current titleholder Brandon Moreno and immediately announced the move up.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.