Deiveson Figueiredo wants to give Alexandre Pantoja a rematch for the flyweight gold in 2025.
The only fighter on the UFC roster to hold a victory over Pantoja, a 2019 ‘Fight of the Night’ decision that kicked off the run that culminated in a title-winning rear-naked choke over Joseph Benavidez 12 months later, Figueiredo is open to returning to his original weight class if offered an immediate shot at the gold.
Pantoja called out Demetrious Johnson following an impressive submission victory over former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in Las Vegas this past weekend. However, “Mighty Mouse” later reaffirmed his retirement, claiming he turned down a $2 million offer to fight again.
“I saw that he challenged Demetrious Johnson, and I’ve volunteered [to fight him],” Figueiredo told MMA Fighting. “Demetrious Johnson is retired and doesn’t want to fight again. If he’s looking for someone to fight, why didn’t he mention my name? I beat him when I was at flyweight. If the UFC wants to put me against him, I’m open to going down to 125 for this fight.”
Figueiredo moved up to bantamweight following a fourth championship clash with Brandon Moreno in January 2023, a failed attempt to regain the 125-pound belt, but said he’s staying lighter now compared to when he fought at flyweight.
“I went down from 163 pounds to fight at 125, and now I’m fighting at bantamweight and staying lighter, around 156,” Figueiredo said. “I’d be around 150 for this fight so I could make weight easier.”
Figueiredo, 24-4-1 as a professional, won three in a row after going to bantamweight, beating Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera, but stumbled in a recent five-round clash with ex-champion Petr Yan in Macau.
Pantoja, 29-5 overall in the sport, is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC, including three defenses of his flyweight title against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Asakura.
“I’ve evolved a lot both on the stand-up and in the grappling area, became more intelligent, and Pantoja is a fighter that walks forward the entire time,” Figueiredo said. “He’s going for more takedowns on his last fights to use his jiu-jitsu but we can see that [his opponents] don’t know jiu-jitsu. They have takedown defense, but don’t have jiu-jitsu.
“My style is very complicated for Pantoja. Watch our fight. It was a crazy fight, let’s put it this way, but I won all three rounds. I’m available, man. He called out a retired fighter. He has to call out an active fighter, and I’m willing to do it.”
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