Rob Font said earlier this year that he wanted to introduce Deiveson Figueiredo to the UFC bantamweight division.
His wish has been granted.
Font (20-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Figueiredo (21-3-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) are set to meet in a 135-pound clash Dec. 2 at a UFC Fight Night event, which does not have an announced location or venue. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie that contracts have been issued, but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking on Friday.
Font, 36, is currently ranked No. 7 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings after losing three of his past four bouts. Font most recently lost a 140-pound catchweight bout by unanimous decision to Cory Sandhagen in a five-round headliner, which he accepted on short notice, on Aug. 5. Prior to that, Font snapped a two-fight skid when he defeated Adrian Yanez by first-round TKO in April at UFC 287.
After that win, Font expressed his desire to fight Figueiredo.
“I’d love to introduce him to the 135 division,” Font told reporters after UFC 287. “I think that’d be a fun fight. I think I like fighting big names. I definitely don’t want to fight backward, but I think me and him could definitely be a great fight.”
Figueiredo, 35, will be coming off a flyweight title-fight tetralogy in which he faced Brandon Moreno four consecutive times since December 2020. Figueiredo went 1-2-1 in those four fights, most recently losing by third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO this past January at UFC 283.
Figueiredo has openly talked about competing at bantamweight since the loss to Moreno and will finally make the move.
With the addition, here’s the updated UFC Fight Night lineup for Dec. 2:
- Julia Avila vs. Miesha Tate
- Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Rob Font
