UFC Fight Island 2: Deiveson Figueiredo submits Joseph Benavidez to become your new UFC flyweight champion
The fight lasted less than five minutes, but Deiveson Figueiredo produced a fine fighting performance to comprehensively beat Joseph Benavidez to become the UFC’s third-ever flyweight champion.
Figueiredo started the fight in stellar fashion, knocking Benavidez down early with a right hook.
Following his foe on the ground, Figueiredo totally dominated Benavidez in the grappling stakes. The Brazilian looked to have a secured a tight rear-naked choke on three occasions, but Benavidez’s toughness showed as he somehow escaped all of them to return back to his feet.
That placed the Team Alpha Male product in more danger, though. Figueiredo knocked Benavidez back down twice with big punches – on the second occasion, he decided to resume the fight on the floor once again.
After battering a beleaguered Benavidez with elbows on top, Figueiredo grabbed another rear-naked choke.
This time, Benavidez couldn’t tough out of this position and was soon rendered unconscious with seconds remaining in the first round.
Figueiredo will welcome this win after a tough 2020 so far. His first fight – and victory – over Benavidez in February came to nothing as his failed weight cut prohibited him from winning the UFC flyweight championship.
He then tested positive for COVID-19 before being flown out to Abu Dhabi for last night’s rematch, throwing the fight into jeopardy due to the UFC and local government’s strict coronavirus policies. Fortunately for him, he was able to prove it was a false positive test with a string of negative tests.
UFC Fight Island 2: Jack Hermansson upsets the odds in quick win over Kelvin Gastelum
Jack Hermansson is back in the UFC middleweight title mix after a stunning victory over long-time contender Kelvin Gastelum.
“The Joker” went for a takedown after a brief striking exchange with Gastelum. However, the latter rebuffed Hermansson’s attempt and reversed into top position.
Gastelum spent too much time in Hermansson’s guard, though. The Swede grabbed a hold of Gastelum’s leg and cranked until the former interim UFC middleweight title challenger was forced to tap in little over a minute of the first round.
This was perhaps Hermansson’s most impressive win to date, putting his defeat to Jared Cannonier behind him after a run of four important victories over big names such as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, David Branch and Thales Leites.
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez full results
Flyweight Championship: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Benavidez by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:48 of round one
Middleweight: Jack Hermansson def. Kelvin Gastelum by submission (heel hook) at 1:18 of round one
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev def. Marc Diakiese by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Flyweight: Ariane Lipski def. Luana Carolina by submission (kneebar) at 1:28 of round one
Flyweight: Askar Askarov def. Alexandre Pantoja Dby unanimous decision after three rounds
Light Heavyweight: Roman Dolidze def. Khadis Ibragimov by TKO (knee and punches) at 4:15 of round one
Catchweight: Grant Dawson def. Nad Narimani by unanimous decision after three rounds
Lightweight: Joel Álvarez def. Joseph Duffy by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:25 of round one
Bantamweight: Brett Johns def. Montel Jackson by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Amir Albazi def. Malcolm Gordon by submission (triangle choke) at 4:42 of round one
Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan def. Davi Ramos by unanimous decision after three rounds
Heavyweight: Sergey Spivak def. Carlos Felipe by majority decision after three rounds