Dana White reacts to Deiveson Figueiredo’s “pure violence” victory over Joseph Benavidez

UFC President Dana White was very impressed by Deiveson Figueiredo’s title-earning victory over Joseph Benavidez this evening.

In the main event of UFC Fight Island 2, Figueiredo and Benavidez collided for a second time with the promotions vacant flyweight title on the line.

In their first encounter this past February, the Brazilian had defeated Benavidez via TKO, this after an accidental headbutt had stunned ‘Joe-Jitsu’. Deiveson Figueiredo had also missed weight for that first fight, so Dana White and company decided to book an immediate rematch.

While many fighters thought that Joseph Benavidez would finally realize his dream of capturing UFC gold in his fourth attempt this evening, that proved to be far from the case.

Image Credit: Screenshot from UFC’s YouTube

Benavidez was dominated by Figueiredo right from the opening bell, suffering three knockdowns before eventually being put to sleep by a rear-naked choke.

While it was a devastating setback for the fan favorite in ‘Joe-Jitsu’, it was a coming out party for Figueiredo, one which Dana White is very excited about.

“Pure violence,” White said (via MMAJunkie). “No controversy in this one. We have pretty nasty champions in those two divisions now.”

The future of the UFC men’s flyweight division has seemingly been in question over the past two years, however Dana White assured fans that there is nothing to worry about now.

“When was the last time I talked about getting rid of the (flyweight) division?” White said. “Yeah, it’s here. Look at how good this guy looked tonight. Look what he did. (There was) a ton of controversy in the first fight from weight to headbutts. (There was) no controversy in this one. The guy came in and did what he said he was going to do against the No. 2 ranked guy in the world and he looked damn good doing it.”

Deiveson Figueiredo has expressed his interest in potentially fighting for UFC bantamweight gold in the future, but Dana White says he will have to defend his newly acquired flyweight title a couple of times before getting any super-fights.

“I’d like to see him defend his title a couple times,” White said. “Maybe if he defends the title a couple of times, that’ll be interesting, yeah.”

Who would you like to see Deivseon Figueiredo fight in his first attempt at a UFC title defense? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

on July 18, 2020