New Beginnings

"In the name of Jesus, I want to always, always, always put on great fights for the audience for as long as I’m in action, you can be sure of that.”

Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo makes his bantamweight debut against Rob Font in the featured bout of a star-studded card in Austin, Texas this Saturday. Figueiredo has long teased a move up to 135 pounds, considering his previous struggles to make the flyweight limit. A win over Font could be the beginning of a career resurgence.

As fighters grow older, weight cutting becomes far more difficult, and potentially dangerous. Depriving oneself to a malnourished, dehydrated state in the days leading up to competition has been proven to increase the risk of kidney damage, strained muscles, brain-related injuries, illness, and in very rare cases, death.

Figueiredo has openly admitted to shedding 39 pounds, a quarter of his bodyweight, to make the 125 pound mark. He nearly squandered his first title opportunity against Joseph Benavidez in February of 2020, weighing 2.5 pounds over the championship limit.

He ended up winning the fight by a second round knockout, but was ineligible to win the title. The two had an immediate rematch for the title in July, where Figueiredo not only made weight, but choked Benavidez unconscious in a 5 minute mauling.

The newly crowned flyweight champion was determined to be professional, ensuring that he would not miss weight for the remainder of his title run. But the Brazilian never ceased to appear as a depleted zombie on the scale. It became clear that the devastating weight cut, in combination with his aging body, could no longer be maintained safely.

The former champ is coming off a doctor stoppage loss to Brandon Moreno, putting an end to their historical quadrilogy. Figueiredo was losing the fight, down 2 rounds to 1, when a hook from Moreno caused Figueiredo's right eye to swell shut. The cage side physician could not let the fight continue in good conscience, forcing Referee Herb Dean to wave it off. Figueiredo looked down at the canvas with disappointment, but he did not object to the decision.

Whether the weight cut played a role in his performance cannot be assumed, but it assuredly did not improve his chances. Moving up a weight class is the only logical decision to make at this stage of his career. As a two-time flyweight champion with thrilling performances throughout, he has nothing left to prove at flyweight, and it is not worth the potential health risks.

At bantamweight, he can navigate his journey in a new weight class, refreshed and rejuvenated without a crushing weight cut. "I have three more years ahead of me before retiring," said Figueiredo. "I hope to one day get to the title fight in this division."

Then again, 35 years of age has historically been the cut-off limit for fighters of the smaller weight classes to win a belt; no fighter between flyweight and lightweight has ever been able to do so. As Figueiredo approaches 36, his chances of becoming a two-division champion grow worse every day.

But for a man who has reached the pinnacle of the sport as a champion, he can only be admired for seeking greater legacy. And No. 8 ranked Rob Font, a durable Massachusetts boxer with lightning-fast hands, is the ideal opponent. Not only will the bout gauge where Figueiredo stands in the bantamweight division, one which is chock-full of dangerous competition, but its entertainment value is bound to leave fans satisfied.