While not official just yet, UFC President Dana White has laid out a potential time frame for the flyweight championship rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
In one of the greatest title fights in UFC history, Figueiredo and Moreno fought to majority draw in the main event of UFC 256 in December. White stated immediately after the fight that a second battle in 2021 was imminent.
On Tuesday, White took part in a virtual Q&A for ESPN+ subscribers and was asked when he expects the highly anticipated rematch to take place.
“April or May,” White stated.
The time frame seems to be consistent to what both competitors were looking at as well. Figueiredo, MMA Fighting’s 2020 Fighter of the Year, was hoping for a May return, according to manager Wallid Ismail in a recent interview with MMA Fighting—after a sensational year that saw him go unbeaten in four fights—which included a pair of finishes of Joseph Benavidez, the latter earned him the 125 pound title. In his first title defense, “Deus da Guerra” submitted Alex Perez in the first round at UFC 255 before returning to defend against Moreno three weeks later.
Moreno, who also took the fight on three weeks’ notice after stopping Brandon Royval in the first round in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 255, is unbeaten in six fights since he was released from the promotion after a unanimous decision loss to Jussier Formiga in May 2018. “The Assassin Baby” spoke with MMA Fighting after his incredible showing against Figueiredo and, at the time, was hoping the rematch would take place in April.
“In a perfect world, I prefer April because I need to recover myself very well,” Moreno explained. “It’ll give me time to get to Tijuana to start training slowly, step by step. Then, of course, training camp, game plan and stuff. I can be ready in March, April is better for me. May or June is too [far away].”