The fixture against Manel Kape at UFC 290 came as a surprise after Deiveson Figueiredo announced that he was changing his weight category and moving to bantamweight. The 35-year-old Brazilian was recently defeated by flyweight champion Brandon Moreno in his last fixture. The event continues to get hype and UFC 290 could be one of the most intense UFC events of the year.
If Manel Kape defeats Figueiredo in this bout, he can stand a great chance to be in the title contention for the flyweight category. The 29-year-old Angolan is coming from a unanimous victory in his last bout against David Dvorak in December 2022. Meanwhile, Figueiredo is coming from the painful defeat against flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. This loss led him to lose his flyweight championship as he was knocked out after the doctor advised him not to take further part in the fight.
Check the announced bouts at UFC 290:
- UFC Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodríguez
- Middleweight bout: Bo Nickal vs. Tresean Gore
- Flyweight bout: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Manel Kape
- Welterweight bout: Sean Brady vs. Jack Della Maddalena
It will be exciting to see how Deiveson Figueiredo comebacks in UFC 290 after there were reports of him shifting to bantamweight were demolished. Earlier when Deiveson Figueiredo reportedly wanted to return to the flyweight category, the former UFC flyweight champion was targeting a bantamweight bout with Dominick Cruz.