Deiveson Figueiredo bounced back in style to recapture the UFC flyweight title at UFC 270, then called for a fourth bout with the man he’d just dethroned, Brandon Moreno.
The first meeting between the pair ended in a draw at UFC 256, then Moreno submitted Figueiredo to win the title in the rematch at UFC 263.
It set up a trilogy fight in Anaheim at UFC 270 where, after five back-and-forth rounds of action, Figueiredo edged a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, 48-47, 48-47, 48-47.
But any thoughts of Figueiredo wanting to move on and find fresh challenges were swiftly halted during the Brazilian’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, where he immediate declared his intent to face the Mexican for a fourth time.
“It’s my day. It’s my day, man! Thank you so much Brandon Moreno!” shouted Figueiredo in English before switching to Portuguese to give an impassioned statement.
“I’ve been away from my family for four months, and I’ve got this,” he continued.
“I’m ready for a fourth fight against Brandon, in Mexico!
“And no matter what happens, life will try to put you down on your knees. You cannot quit. You cannot give up. Always stand up, Brandon and we’re going to be doing a fourth fight!”
Moreno, meanwhile, was left wondering what might have been after finding himself on the wrong end of a narrow decision loss.
“Man, I feel like I threw better combinations with more speed. Maybe he connected with more power,” he told Joe Rogan after the fight.
“But, I dunno. Obviously, I thought I won, but it is what it is right now.
“I felt like he did a better gameplan against me. But he was waiting just a little too much.
“I felt I was pushing the better pace in the fight. But I don’t know, man. I need to watch the fight again and see what happened.”