Figueiredo cites racism in request for new opponent

Deiveson Figueiredo speaks with media following his championship victory at UFC 270 at Honda Center. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

UFC champ Deiveson Figueiredo cites 2021 racist social media posts from Brandon Moreno’s teammate in request for new opponent

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Jason Burgos | Last updated 3/29/22

UFC flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo is using racially insensitive posts from last year by Brandon Moreno’s teammates as the reason for no longer being interested in a fourth fight with the Mexican star.

On Monday night, the Brazilian took to his Instagram account to post an image hyping a possible bout against flyweight contender Kai Kara-France. The fight idea was a bit surprising because the expectation has been that Figueiredo would face Moreno in a fourth title clash after their trilogy bout in January was once again hotly contested, and controversial in the eyes of some.

However, in the caption for the image, “Daico” revealed that he has soured on a fourth bout, because of the posts made last June by former Moreno teammate Marcelo Rojo. In the post, Rojo — who is also on the UFC roster — photoshopped the Brazilian’s head out of an image and replaced it with that of a monkey.

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A post shared by Deiveson Figueiredo (@daico_deusdaguerra)

The incident occurred last June before the pairs championship rematch. Rojo apologized at the time and Moreno, and UFC boss Dana White publicly stated disapproval of the image. Moreno would go on to win the bout by third-round submission.

Kara-France has jumped into the title conversation after winning three straight fights. The last of which came this past weekend at UFC Columbus when he beat top-five 125-pounder Askar Askarov by unanimous decision. The New Zealander is now ranked second in the division behind Moreno.

Despite Moreno’s camp pushing hard for a fourth bout since the third earlier this year, the 34-year-old Figueiredo has not been as adamant about it. The fact that he is bringing up a situation from a year ago that had seemed long settled all of a sudden certainly gives the impression he doesn’t want another go around with the man he barely beat in the two wins he has over him.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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