Deiveson Figueiredo calls for ‘dream fight’ against former UFC champ after UFC 300 win

Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo wants to add a former bantamweight titleholder to his desired path to a title shot.

Figueiredo defeated former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt to kick off UFC 300 last Saturday in Las Vegas. He is now 2-0 in his UFC bantamweight tenure after defeating Rob Font in December by unanimous decision.

Figueiredo is looking to reclaim championship form after opting to make the full-time move to bantamweight last year. He lost to Brandon Moreno in their flyweight title tetralogy at UFC 283 before making the move up a division.

Figueiredo has significant aspirations for his bantamweight tenure and aims to check off another former titleholder off of his list in pursuit of UFC gold.

Deiveson Figueiredo targets Dominick Cruz after UFC 300

During a recent interview with Brazilian publication Canal Encarada, Figueiredo called for a shot at UFC legend Dominick Cruz.

“People are pushing some names, but what I really want is to fulfill a dream fight of mine, which is to fight Dominick Cruz,” Figueiredo exclaimed. “It would be amazing to fight at [UFC 303] in June, that depends on [Cruz]. If he signs the contract, I’m ready. I want to fight him, and I think he’s a guy who can take me to a title shot.”

As of this writing, Cruz hasn’t addressed Figueiredo’s callout, and he hasn’t hinted at when he could potentially return to the Octagon.

Cruz hasn’t fought since a TKO loss to Marlon Vera in Aug. 2022. Before that, he earned back-to-back decision wins over Pedro Munhoz and Casey Kenney in 2021.

Figueiredo’s recent addition to the bantamweight title mix adds even more crowding into the division. A win over another former champion like Cruz could prove to the UFC matchmakers that he’s a legitimate title threat in the stacked group.

Figueiredo remains a dangerous out for most of the top bantamweights and flyweights, and a matchup with Cruz could be enough to earn him a possible No. 1 contender fight.