Instead of going with a fresh matchup at the top of the flyweight division, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will once again go back to a familiar well with Moreno vs Figueiredo III at UFC 269 in December.
The trilogy is on!
Flyweight champ Brandon Moreno will make his first title defense against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/dPMRvjCOsu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 16, 2021
“>ESPN — via their Twitter account — was the first to report that the matchup for December 11 had both been agreed to by both flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and former division king Deiveson Figueiredo.
Moreno vs Figueiredo III official for UFC 269
https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1438318231165542401
The bout will be the third consecutive time the pair have faced each other inside the Octagon. The first came in December at UFC 256 in what is viewed by many as the greatest flyweight title fights in promotion history. Moreno (19-5-2) and Figueiredo (20-2-1) battled for five highly competitive rounds that saw neither man get their hand raised at the end after the judges scored the fight a draw.
The Mexican and Brazilian were booked in a rematch six months later at UFC 263 in June. However, this fight was far different than the original. As “The Assassin Baby” seemed to take another massive development step forward and put in a fairly dominant performance over three rounds, and handed “Deus Da Guerra” the first submission and stoppage defeat of his career.
Alexandre Pantoja can’t be happy about this news
The biggest loser from this news is Alexandre Pantoja. The third-ranked flyweight scored a pivotal win over sixth-ranked talent Brandon Royval last month at UFC Vegas 34. The victory was a second straight over a ranked opponent, and he seemed lined up for a championship opportunity next. He even called for the bout with Moreno in attendance, as he did commentary for the Spanish-language broadcast of the event.
Pantoja owns two victories over the current flyweight king. Having beaten him while they were contestants on season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, and then again two years later in May of 2018.
Moreno vs Figueiredo III is expected to be the co-main event for UFC 269. The event will be headlined by a lightweight title fight pitting division champion Charles Oliveira in his first title defense against top contender Dustin Poirier. A location and venue for the event has yet to be announced.
