Deiveson Figueiredo warns Demetrious Johnson against making a return to the UFC

New UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo warned former long-time flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson about making a return to the UFC.

Figueiredo won the vacant flyweight belt when he dominated Joseph Benavidez in the main event of UFC Fight Island 2. After knocking Benavidez down three times and then nearly finishing the fight three times with rear-naked chokes, he finally was able to get the RNC late in the first when he choked Benavidez out cold in an incredible title-winning victory.

The win by Figueiredo proved that he’s the best flyweight in the UFC right now, and naturally, fans are now curious to see how a fight against Johnson would play out. Johnson is, of course, doing his thing in ONE Championship after being traded for Ben Askren, but that isn’t stopping fans from considering how good of a matchup this could be.

Following the event, Figueiredo spoke at the post-fight press conference about a potential matchup against Johnson. The Brazilian champion said that if the UFC wants to bring Johnson back into the fold, he will knock him out and finish him, too.

“That’s definitely a fight that all the fans would want to see, me against Demetrious Johnson. If the UFC wants to bring him back, I’m going to be very happy. I’m going to knock him out and with a lot of pride. I’m very happy to do that,” Figueiredo said (via MMAjunkie.com).

Figueiredo told the media that his goal is to defend the 125lbs belt, which is a sigh of relief to the UFC matchmakers as the division hasn’t had a champion since Henry Cejudo vacated the belt last year. Figueiredo defeated Benavidez back in February in a vacant title fight, but he was not eligible to win the belt after he missed weight. Now that he’s made weight and is the champ, he can finally defend his flyweight title, and the division can get moving along again after being stagnant in the last few months.

However, Figueiredo is already thinking about what’s next. He says that in addition to defending the flyweight belt, he is also interested in superfights at 135lbs in order to become a two-division UFC champion.

“I will accept a superfight if they want to give me one. I’ll move up to 135. I want to be a two-division champion but I’m going to defend this belt as well,” Figueiredo said.

Who do you think would win, Deiveson Figueiredo or Demetrious Johnson?