UFC News: Joseph Benavidez vs Deiveson Figueiredo confirmed for UFC 233

Benavidez returns to the Octagon this January
Benavidez returns to the Octagon this January

What's the story?

On Tuesday evening, it was confirmed by UFC that Joseph Benavidez will be back in the Octagon at UFC 233, as the two-time Flyweight Title challenger is now set to face-off against undefeated Brazilian fighter Deiveson Figueiredo.

In case you didn't know...

After his triumphant win over Alex Perez last week at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, Joseph Benavidez is now all set for an explosive start to 2019, as the 34-year-old prepares himself to go head-to-head against undefeated fighter Deiveson Figueiredo.

30-year-old Figueiredo who made his UFC debut at UFC 220 is still undefeated in Octagon competition, scoring huge wins over the likes of Jarred Brooks, Joseph Morales, and very recently against John Moraga at UFC Fight Night 135.

The heart of the matter

Joseph Benavidez has quickly turned around his UFC career, improving his Octagon record to 13-3 this past weekend in Vegas, following his impressive first-round win over Alex Perez. Benavidez's only losses in the Octagon so far came at the hands of Demetrious Johnson, Dominick Cruz, and Sergio Pettis.

Figueiredo, meanwhile, has also been impressive in the Octagon thus far and both him and Benavidez are currently in the top 5 of the UFC’s official contender rankings.

Below is the updated fight card for UFC 233:

Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw – UFC Flyweight Championship

Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler

Alexander Hernandez vs. Francisco Trinaldo

Paul Felder vs. James Vick

Yana Kunitskaya vs. Marion Reneau

Cortney Casey vs. Cynthia Calvillo

Anthony Hernandez vs. Markus Perez

Alex Caceres vs. Kron Gracie

Joseph Benavidez vs Deiveson Figueiredo

What's next?

UFC 233 is starting to look like a really solid fight card thus far, given that not only will we witness a Champion vs Champion bout between Henry Cejudo and T.J. Dillashaw, but former ONE Championship veteran Ben Askren will also make his debut against Robbie Lawler.

UFC 233 takes place on the 26th of January, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram