UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo doesn’t want to see an interim title being made anytime soon.
The Brazilian was last seen at UFC 270 in January for his trilogy bout with Brandon Moreno. Figueiredo re-captured the flyweight crown via unanimous decision, and a fourth fight seemed to be on the way. However, the new champion began gunning to fight anyone but Moreno.
He noted that because of racist comments made by Moreno’s team, he didn’t want to fight him again. As a result, he began calling out other contenders such as Kai Kara-France for a bout. His callout of the Kiwi was short-lived, as Figueiredo has recently announced that he’s going to be out of action for a while.
Despite a hand injury supposedly keeping the champion out until the winter, he doesn’t want to see any interim titles being made. In an interview with Ag Fight, Figueiredo opined that it wouldn’t be right if the UFC made an interim belt. He also thinks the move would show that the promotion doesn’t want him as champion.
“It would be pretty messed on the UFC’s part (to create an interim belt). I can’t fight for the belt and then they create another one? That way I’ll know they really don’t want me as the champion. I’ll have to rip off the head of whoever has that interim belt. It took them over four months to create an interim title for Ngannou. I’ve just completed two months with mine. There’s no way they’ll make an interim belt. I’m not opposed to fighting, but I have to be 100% and the money has to be good. I need to value myself. I do what they like, I give them a show and I’ll charge that value as an athlete who sells fights.”
Deiveson Figueiredo continued (h/t BloodyElbow):
“I’m injured. It’s an injury that didn’t let me train properly. I can barely make a fist. I’m going through physical therapy to deal with that, it’s a tear in the cartilage. My finger is crooked. My other hand is also injured. I can’t punch pads properly. These are fighting injuries and they want me to fight again so soon? I’m not a machine. I’m 34 and I need to take care of my body. We can book a fight for October or November. I want to be 100% for a fight.”
What do you think about Deiveson Figueiredo’s comments?