Joseph Benavidez Blasts Deiveson Figueiredo Ahead of Flyweight Title Fight For Missing Weight

Joseph Benavidez will face Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight championship at UFC Fight Night 169. However, Figueiredo is not eligible to win the title.

Deiveson Figueiredo (17-1) is coming off a two-fight win streak against Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott. Figueiredo is 6-1 in the UFC and competes in the flyweight division. However, his walk-around weight is heavier than the rest of the flyweights. Cutting from 165 lbs to 125 lbs is a difficult task for Figueiredo.

Although he has made the weight before, he struggled with it this time. Figueiredo weighed in at 127.5 lbs, 2.5 pounds heavier than the limit. He was granted an extra hour to make the weight but he refused the opportunity. Instead, he sacrificed 30 percent of his purse to Benavidez.

The 30 percent fine was the least of Figueiredo’s worries, he faced another repercussion due to the missed weight. Figueiredo is ineligible to win the title even if he defeats Benavidez in their match.

Joseph Benavidez responds to Deiveson Figueiredo’s missed weight cut

Benavidez believes that making weight is part of the mental discipline. He said that Figueiredo lacks the conviction to win the belt.

Benavidez said, “It’s more of a mental discipline thing, making weight, you know? It just shows me you didn’t come to do this, you didn’t come to win the belt and it adds that conviction and what I already know and believe anyway, it’s like, you weren’t getting it anyway, and now you literally can’t. That’s all on him, that part of it, you know? What I was going to do was going to happen regardless, like I said, if he made or missed,”

Weight cuts are brutal for mixed martial artists. A bad weight cut can ruin a match for the fighter. It can also result in serious health complications and even death. Oftentimes the weight cutting process begins a week before fight night. When the process is hurried, it tends to end badly for the fighter.

If the process is smooth, fighters can achieve the desired result and compete in a healthy physical state. However, there are possibilities of a bad weight cut and even after trying their absolute best, sometimes fighters fail to make weight.

“I assume he suffered as much — my weight cut was clean — so he suffered more than me at the end of the day.” Said Joseph Benavidez.

With more and more fighters missing weight, do you think that the UFC should change their policies to stop fighter from cutting excessive weight?