Posted on: July 18, 2020, 05:00h.
Last updated on: July 17, 2020, 11:19h.
Deiveson Figueiredo comes in as the favorite to win the UFC flyweight championship on Saturday, as he takes on Joseph Benavidez on Fight Island for the title vacated by Henry Cejudo earlier this year.
Figueredo defeated Benavidez in their first matchup in February, but failed to make weight before the fight, meaning he was ineligible to win the flyweight title.
Figueredo Won’t Overlook Benavidez in Second Encounter
That initial fight ended early, with Figueiredo (18-1) winning by TKO a minute and 54 seconds into the second round.
William Hill lists Figueredo as a -220 to win the rematch as well, with Benavidez fetching +180 odds as the underdog.
Figueredo won the first fight after a controversial clash of heads just moments before he put away Benavidez. Figueredo knows the danger that Benavidez poses, and is hungry to show he can beat his illustrious opponent a second time.
Benavidez is truly dangerous and cannot be underestimated,” Figueiredo told MMA Junkie. “We’ve mapped out his game. He’s not too versatile, and always brings the same game in every fight. We’re confident that he’ll try a new strategy against me for July 18, but we’re getting ready with that in mind.”
On the other side, Benavidez (28-6) stands ready to take the second meeting against Figueredo, who came up heavy at the weigh in and thus could not take the flyweight title when he won back in February. Benavidez sees Figueredo as a “villain” after the first fight, and his mind is set on revenge in the rematch.
“It just makes me actually want to hurt him,” Benavidez told ESPN. “So yeah, that is a different feeling towards this fight. Typically I don’t have that toward an opponent. I’m like, hey if I win, I win. If I hurt him, obviously that’s what we’re trained to do. But for this one, that’s the difference.”
Gastelum, Hermansson Seek Recognition in Middleweight Division
Kelvin Gastelum (15-5) comes in as a slight favorite against Jack Hermansson (20-5) in the co-main event. The two middleweights both sit on the fringes of the title picture, with the winner likely to get serious consideration for a title shot, while the loser falls into the lower ranks of numbered contenders.
William Hill sees the fight as a pure tossup, with both Hermansson and Gastelum listed at -1110 to win the bout. Gastelum enters with a reputation as a bit of a fringe contender and a gatekeeper, while Hermansson is on his way up, needing a signature win to put him among the true candidates for a championship run.
I’m expecting the best Kelvin,” Hermansson told reporters on Thursday. “His performance against Adesanya, even though he lost, was a great one, and I think that’s the Kelvin that I’m going to face on Saturday.”
Gastelum remembers how close he came to once winning the UFC middleweight title, and wants to et back into that picture with a win over Hermansson.
“I’m actually in a really good place, mentally and physically, which really wasn’t the case for my last two fights,” Gastelum told MMA Fighting. “Now I’m in a good place mentally, physically. I feel really good coming into this fight. I battled [my demons], I conquered them, and here I am, ready to go.”