Figueiredo Faces UFC 324 Setback With Weight Miss

Deiveson Figueiredo’s journey through the UFC’s bantamweight division has been anything but smooth sailing, and the lead-up to UFC 324 in Las Vegas only added another chapter to his turbulent story. The Brazilian, a former two-time flyweight champion known as “Deus da Guerra,” was set for perhaps his most pivotal fight yet against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. But in a twist few saw coming, it wasn’t just the odds stacked against him—it was also the scale.

On January 24, 2026, Figueiredo missed weight for the first time since before his flyweight debut in 2020, coming in 2.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. For a fighter who moved up a division to escape the grueling cut to 125 pounds, this stumble raised eyebrows throughout the MMA world. The miss could not have come at a worse time, with a potential title shot and a long-awaited rematch with current champion Petr Yan hanging in the balance.

So what went wrong? According to Figueiredo’s manager, the explanation had nothing to do with discipline or preparation. “He had a very difficult trip to the US,” Davis wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Original flight got deviated because of a storm, he ended up spending 48 hrs with very little sleep. It caught up with him. He started feeling bad and we had to stop. Sorry!” The manager’s candid admission shed light on the human side of fight week—a reminder that even the most seasoned athletes can be derailed by events outside their control.

Some fans questioned why Figueiredo’s camp didn’t request a catchweight bout. Davis responded, “It’s kinda hard that late in the game. In the evening we thought he would make it.” The lateness of the issue left the team with no viable alternatives, and the Brazilian was forced to accept the consequences. Missing weight not only carries a financial penalty but also casts a shadow over a fighter’s professionalism and, in this case, his standing in the title picture.

For Figueiredo, UFC 324 was supposed to be a springboard back into title contention. After all, he’s been knocking on the door of bantamweight gold ever since his move up from flyweight. But every time he gets close, something seems to trip him up. This time, it was the combination of a brutal travel ordeal and the relentless demands of making weight. And yet, the Brazilian’s determination has never wavered.

Heading into the fight, Figueiredo was a massive underdog—his odds ballooned to as high as +1000 against Nurmagomedov, one of the division’s most feared grapplers. But if you ask “Deus da Guerra,” that’s just fuel for the fire. “I want to fight, I want to win, and I want the opportunity to fight for the belt,” Figueiredo told MMA Fighting. “Especially against Petr Yan, a guy who beat me in our first fight, and I’d love to have a second fight with him, for sure.”

His ambitions are clear: defeat Nurmagomedov in spectacular fashion and force the UFC’s hand for a title shot. “If he gives me the opening, I want to submit him,” Figueiredo said. “Umar is a guy who fights in a very slow, grinding way, always taking people down, and he’s going to fight someone who doesn’t fight like that. I’m a guy who comes forward, I fight intelligently, but I aim to win decisively, by submission or by knockout. That would definitely earn me a title shot.”

The stakes for UFC 324 couldn’t be higher. Nurmagomedov, himself on the cusp of a championship opportunity, represents the ultimate litmus test. Figueiredo knows that a loss—especially after missing weight—could push him even further from the title scene. But a win, particularly a finish, would erase the doubts and put him right back in the conversation.

The Brazilian’s hunger for redemption is rooted in his last bout with Petr Yan, which took place in November 2024 at UFC Macau. Yan snapped Figueiredo’s three-fight win streak with a unanimous decision, and the defeat still stings. “I fought him and trained at home, you know?” Figueiredo reflected. “I have a gym in Belém and I also have some athletes we’re developing there, so I used those kids to train, to help me in training, you know? It was a camp where I didn’t feel much pressure, I didn’t really get pushed hard in sparring, you know? Every day I’d go to the gym and my level compared to my students was on another level. My students, my training partners.”

He’s quick to point out what he’d do differently in a rematch. “But in a second fight with Petr Yan, I would definitely leave Belém and do a camp in Natal. I just did my fourth camp in Natal, and I would certainly do it there again for Petr Yan. That was one point I would fix, brother. Fighting a guy like him, I need high-level guys in my camp so I can show my true potential. Especially against someone of his level, a special fighter.”

To prepare for Nurmagomedov, Figueiredo made good on that promise. After his October win over Montel Jackson at UFC Rio, he moved his camp to Natal, training under respected wrestling coach Lenny Lovato and alongside the likes of Patricio Pitbull and Patricky Pitbull at the renowned Pitbull Brothers gym. “Every day you go to the gym and you face guys at the beginning of camp and they’re hitting you, hitting you,” he said. “There comes a point when they can’t beat you anymore and you realize how much you’ve evolved over the camp. And that happens to me a lot.”

Despite the setback on the scale, Figueiredo entered the octagon determined to prove that he’s still a force at 135 pounds. The weight miss may have complicated his path to the title, but it hasn’t dampened his spirit. If anything, it’s given him another obstacle to overcome—a familiar feeling for the Brazilian, who’s made a career out of defying expectations.

As the action unfolds at UFC 324, all eyes remain fixed on Figueiredo. Will he rise above the odds and secure the statement win he so desperately seeks? Or will the weight miss and the relentless grind of the bantamweight division keep him from realizing his championship dreams? One thing’s for sure: in the unpredictable world of MMA, nothing is ever set in stone, and “Deus da Guerra” is never out of the fight.