Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo fight Saturday in UFC 270 at the Honda Center. Moreno enters this fight with a 19-5-2 record and has won 58 percent of his fights by submission. Figueiredo enters this fight with a 20-2-1 record and has won 45 percent of his fights by knockout.
Moreno has won four of his last five fights and is coming off a June win over Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno is averaging 3.44 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 39 percent. Moreno is averaging 2.05 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 47 percent. He is coming off a win at UFC 263 where he landed 71 total strikes and 55 percent of significant strikes. He also produced two takedowns. Moreno still hasn’t lost a fight since UFC Fight Night 129. Moreno is an energetic, tough Mexican fighter who won’t get outworked in the octagon. He is a black belt in BJJ, has 10 career submission wins, and his scrambling ability is as good as it gets in this division. Moreno can reverse position quickly and does a good job of fighting the hands in his takedown defense. He has also improved his striking over the years and has shown he can trade on the feet if needed. Moreno has still never been finished in his career. This will be Moreno’s seventh career fight in California.
Figueiredo has won seven of his last 10 fights and is coming off a June loss to Brandon Moreno. Figueiredo is averaging 3.24 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 56 percent. Figueiredo is averaging 1.54 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 52 percent. He is coming off a loss at UFC 263 where he landed 33 total strikes and 66 percent of his significant strikes. Figueiredo now hopes to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. Figueiredo is a balanced fighter who has great takedown ability, can fight from his back and is quite slippery on the canvas with his scrambling skills. He has solid wrestling and has eight career submissions, with five of them coming via guillotine choke. Figueiredo is also skilled on the feet, with knockout power and solid head movement that make it tough for an opponent to land cleanly. Now 34 years old, Figueiredo has more than proven he’s one of the best and possibly most underrated fighter in the sport. This will be Figueiredo’s first career fight in California.
The first two fights between these two have been very competitive, so you can make a case for either guy here. Figueiredo probably wins the first bout if he wasn’t deducted a point, so you can argue the first two meetings were split down the middle. And knowing that, I have to give Figueiredo the edge with the plus money. While both are slippery on the canvas and can get back on their feet, it’s Figueiredo who is sharper with his striking accuracy and has not lost back-to-back fights in his career. These are two fighters who are similar in talent level, and there won’t be any surprises with this being the third straight meeting.
I’ll take a shot with Figueiredo and the plus money.