Deiveson Figueiredo explains the one major reason he lost the flyweight title to Brandon Moreno at UFC 263

UFC 263: Adesanya v Vettori 2
UFC 263: Adesanya v Vettori 2

Deiveson Figueiredo believes his bad weight cut paved the way for his title loss at UFC 263.

The 33-year-old said he had a "very bad feeling" stepping into the octagon and that he wasn't confident enough during the fight.

Figueiredo aimed to defend his title against Brandon Moreno in the UFC 263 co-main. 'The Assassin Baby' put in a dominant performance and submitted the Brazilian fighter in the second round of their clash.

Speaking to Brazilian sports outlet Combate, 'Deus Da Guerra' reflected on his lackluster performance at UFC 263. He also noted that he is now eyeing a trilogy fight with Moreno-

"It really was the weight cut. I didn't have a healthy weight cut, it was really hard to cut the weight, but I did it. But I'm going back home and I'm going to train. I lost the first time, then I won five fights in a row. You can be sure, I will train, I will win and I will take this happiness back to Brazil," said Deiveson Figueiredo (translated from Portuguese to Enlish via Google Translate)

Deiveson Figueiredo added that he knew the fight may not go his way the moment he checked out of the hotel.

The former flyweight champion further stressed his desire to compete against Moreno in a trilogy fight.

"He (Brandon Moreno) is to be congratulated, it was his night. He certainly trained very well for this fight and today was not my day. But I want the trilogy, I want this fight to happen. Now I just want to go back home and train again." Deiveson Figueiredo said.

Deiveson Figueiredo's trouble with weight cuts

Deiveson Figueiredo was the last fighter on the scale at UFC 263 weigh-ins. He made the championship weight seconds before UFC wrapped up the weigh-ins show.

This is not the first time Figueiredo has had issues with weight cutting. In February 2020, he went into his title fight against Joseph Benavidez 2.5 pounds overweight.

Consequently, he became ineligible to be crowned the flyweight champion despite winning the fight via TKO in the first round.

Figueiredo and Benavidez fought again in July last year, where the Brazilian successfully won the UFC flyweight title.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard