Coach of Deiveson Figueiredo Details Difficulty of Keeping Champion on Weight

The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion is hungry, in several senses of the word.

At 125 pounds, one of the largest struggles for Deiveson Figueiredo is to make certain he is on championship weight ahead of his fights. Measuring 5-foot-5, the Brazilian often appears like he is chiseled out of marble like an old Roman statue. It is no secret how tough it is to keep him at flyweight, so much so that he has flirted with moving up to bantamweight several times over the years.

“Eating is one of the biggest pleasures of my life,” Figueiredo said proudly during UFC 283 media day on Wednesday.

Aware about the importance of keeping the champion’s weight under control, his boxing coach Jose Carlos Maizena and wife, Valbenice, decided it would be prudent to simply move into Figueiredo’s house.

“The camp itself was perfect; the most difficult part was control Deiveson’s mouth,” coach Maizena shared with Sherdog on Wednesday. “It was a war! As you could see in press conference his [preferred] subject is food. Knowing how important would be to have someone he respects close to him daily taking care of his food, me and my wife, who cooks his food, decided to move there for the last four months.”

Together with Figueiredo’s jiu-jitsu coach, ex-UFC fighter Iliarde Santos, the two trainers discussed their fighter’s camp, as it differed from recent ones. Instead of training in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at Chute Boxe, or in Arizona at Fight Ready, Figueiredo stayed home for this camp. According to Santos, remaining in Belem, Brazil, did not simply keep Figueiredo in his comfort zone, away from challenges or struggles.

“No way,” Santos exclaimed. “This camp was absolutely perfect. He had tough sparring [sessions] and great coaches working for him from Monday through Sunday. [It] is hard to explain the great vibe we had last four months. I can guarantee you I’ve never seen the champion so focused. After three fights with Mexican crowds supporting Moreno, he can’t wait to have [the] Brazilian audience pushing him Saturday.”

Both coaches respect the evolution shown by Moreno in their last few fights, but they still do not expect it will go to the scorecards. It is of little surprise that they both fervently believe Figueiredo will prevail in the tetralogy match.

“[Like the] previous fight, I see a war in first three rounds,” Maizena noted, “but after that, Deiveson will impose his game and end up winning via submission or knockout.” Santos was similar in his message but even more concise, stating, “Submission or knockout, but will not reach the end.”