Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez Main Event | UFC 255

UFC 255: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez Betting Preview

Deiveson Figueiredo became an overnight sensation with his first-round victory over Joseph Benavidez on Fight Island in July to become the UFC Flyweight Champion. Figueiredo will attempt his first title defense this Saturday night in Las Vegas when he faces Alex Perez in the main event of UFC 255.

Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1-0) missed weight in what was supposed to be a UFC Flyweight Championship match against Joseph Benavidez in February. He went on to defeat Benavidez via a technical knockout in the second round, but was ineligible to win the vacant title. The two fought in a rematch in July and Figueiredo won again in even more dominant fashion, scoring a first-round rear-naked choke submission victory. The flyweight champ owns an 8-1 record in the UFC including a current stretch of four straight wins.

Cody Garbrandt was originally slated to be Figueiredo’s first title defense, but he was forced to pull out of this fight in October due to a town bicep. This opened the door for Alex Perez (24-5-0), who certainly deserves this shot with three straight wins and a 6-1 record so far in the UFC. Perez is 11-1 over this last 12 fights overall and has picked up Performance of the Night bonuses in each of his last two fights.

Perez is somewhat tempting at his current price of +230. While he hasn’t had too many top-tier tests in the UFC, he has still passed the eye test across his fights. The challenger has a path to victory by using his leg kicks to keep Figueiredo at bay and to earn enough points to grind out a decision win.

But while Perez may have the goods, we already know that Figueiredo does. His two dominant performances over one of the UFC’s great all-time flyweights in Benavidez shows just how tough Figueiredo is. He has incredible knockout power for a flyweight and should be able to catch Perez with a devastating blow at some point in this bout to turn the tides in his favor.