An MMA veteran has one last shot at the UFC title but fights a guy who has already KO'd him once, and is determined to do it again
- Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez fight a flyweight rematch Saturday, and whoever wins will be awarded the UFC title.
- Figueiredo and Benavidez match-up for the second time this year, and though the UFC boss Dana White said it's cool to see Benavidez get another shot at a title, he recognizes this may be the last one.
- Benavidez is up against a guy who has already knocked him out once. And Figueiredo told the media this week that he intends to do it all again.
- "My game-plan is … hunt him down and try and knock him out, but I'm sure he's going to try to take me down so I'll submit him," the 32-year-old said.
FIGHT ISLAND — "It's cool to see" Joseph Benavidez rewarded with another UFC title shot, the UFC president Dana White said, but the opponent standing in his way is a man who has already knocked him out once, and is determined to do it again Saturday.
Benavidez challenges for the vacant UFC flyweight championship in a 125-pound match against Deiveson Figueiredo in the third of the UFC's four "Fight Island" events this month, the "UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2" show inside the behind-closed doors Flash Forum in a quarantined area of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Benavidez has been a UFC staple for a decade, has competed 34 times as an MMA pro, and is recognized by White as "a hard worker, never any bulls---."
But the 35-year-old's title shot this weekend will, White said, likely be his last at glory. White told the media at a pre-fight press conference Friday that even Benavidez would recognize it as his last title shot, too.
"[He] is one of those guys, no matter who comes into contact with that guy, everyone likes Joe Benavidez," White said. "It's cool to see him get another opportunity."
That opportunity is against Figueiredo, a jit jitsu expert from Brazil who appears to be as lethal on the ground as he is in stand-up. He's already finished Benavidez once this year.
Figueiredo told reporters at the same press conference, which Insider attended, that regardless of what strategy Benavidez brings into the match, he'll be waiting to finish him with strikes, or submissions.
"My game-plan is … hunt him down and try and knock him out, but I'm sure he's going to try to take me down so I'll submit him," the 32-year-old said.
The Figueiredo and Benavidez fight headlines Saturday's show and is supported by a middleweight match between Jack Hermansson and Kelvin Gastelum.
There are 12 bouts on the card in total.
Read more: