With an eye on a future UFC flyweight (up to 56,7kg) title fight, Alexandre pantoja has criticism of Deiveson Figueiredo, current linear champion of the group. In an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS, after the great performance presented at the UFC 277, the Tupiniquim recognized the achievements of his compatriot, but questioned the focus of the 'God of War', who is recovering from injury.
“I really like the Deiveson Figueiredo. He's a guy I respect a lot as a fighter and as a person. Deiveson looks like he has two sides, not in a bad way, but he created a character who speaks, appears full of shine, with painted eyebrows. And there is Deiveson who is behind the camera, who is humble like me, who works, respects people”, declared Pantoja.
In addition to analyzing the devices used by the champion for self-promotion in Ultimate, Pantoja criticized the athlete's stance, who is out of action due to a hand injury. According to Alexandre, Deiveson, who was present at the UFC 277, I would be sloppy in terms of physical conditioning.
“He hurt his finger, that's why he didn't fight for the belt, but I see that he's lost his focus a little. This problem with Wallid (Ismail, Figueiredo's former agent), the team change. I see this is all messing with the guy's head. I see him a little lost. He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. It's out of the curve, it made the flyweight division rise. (…) Now, he is stagnant, completely out of weight. We could see it. The guy has a broken finger. The guy can run, work out, various things. (…) He must be 20kg. overweight,” he concluded.
On July 30, Pantoja returned to the Octagon after approximately a year of inactivity. In the event, the athlete finished Alex Perez in a lightning-fast fashion, with just over a minute of clash.
Owner of the linear belt, Deiveson has not performed since he regained the mocha belt, in January 2022, when he won the trilogy against Brandon Moreno. There is still no confirmation on when the athlete will return to competition.
