Deiveson Figueiredo says he will affect “mentally fragile” Cody Garbrandt by “touching him” with shots at UFC 300

Deiveson Figueiredo reaffirmed his determination to take advantage of Cody Garbrandt’s perceived vulnerable state by landing significant strikes in their fight at UFC 300.

The ex-UFC flyweight champion is preparing to face Garbrandt in a highly-anticipated bantamweight match on the early preliminary card of the monumental pay-per-view event taking place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During a recent guest spot on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, the 36-year-old Brazilian confidently stated that ‘No Love’ lacks the mental fortitude to handle the obstacles that come with competing in the octagon.

“We see he’s mentally fragile. He doesn’t have a good head. We see he hasn’t come back after having a few losses, right? Every athlete fears getting touched. Many fighters like the in-fight but crumble when a hand lands. You have to be a bada**, and you need a strong mind to come back again. I think I’ll affect his mind by touching him, and he’s going to respect me more.”

He further stated:

“I really want the knockout in this fight. This fight could lead me to a title, so I want to impress. It’s going to be an incredible fight. Cody moves a lot and gives his all in the first round, and I have that same aggressive style. It’s going to be an intense fight.”

Take a look at the statements made by Deiveson Figueiredo below:

The 125-pound bout between ‘Deus da Guerra’ and Garbrandt was scheduled to take place in 2020, while Figueiredo was still the reigning UFC flyweight champion. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old American sustained an injury during his training for this fight, which would have been his debut in the flyweight division.

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt: A Clash of Former Champions

Deiveson Figueiredo made his bantamweight debut at UFC Austin in December, where he secured a unanimous decision victory against Rob Font. This move to the bantamweight division came after ‘Deus da Guerra’ lost his flyweight title in a fourth fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 in January 2023, with the doctor’s stoppage in the third round leading to Moreno’s victory.

Figueiredo has an impressive MMA record of 22-3-1, having won nine fights by KO or TKO and eight by submission.

In the upcoming UFC 300 event, Cody Garbrandt will be making his appearance following a first-round knockout victory over Brian Kelleher in December’s UFC 296. Before this, ‘No Love’ had also claimed a unanimous decision win against Trevin Jones at UFC 285.

Despite experiencing some recent successes, the ex-bantamweight champion went through a turbulent phase in his profession, enduring four knockouts in a four-year period from 2017 to 2021, leading to a record of 1-5.

Despite having a record of 14-5 in MMA, Garbrandt has managed to secure 11 wins via KO or TKO.