UFC on ABC 7: Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Fight Preview

Five months after challenging Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight championship, Marlon Vera will take on former two-time flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ABC 7. Since moving up to bantamweight, Figueiredo is 2-0 at 135 pounds with dominant wins over Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt. Vera, despite losing to O’Malley in March, is still 5-2 since 2021, with his only other loss in the last three years to Cory Sandhagen. Despite having similar experience in the UFC, Vera will be five years younger than Figueiredo once they meet on Aug. 3.

Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Tale of the Tape

Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Fight Statistics

View the statistics for each fighter as they appear on UFC Stats ahead of their main event meeting at UFC 304:

Marlon Vera’s Last Fight

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Thirty-three fights into his career, Vera found himself in the biggest opportunity of his life at UFC 299 when he was blessed with a title opportunity against champion Sean O’Malley. Even though he was not the No. 1 contender in the division, ‘Chito’ received the shot due to his Ecuadorian star power and history with O’Malley as the only fighter to own a win over him. Vera would lose every round of the fight on all three judges’ scorecards, giving ‘Suga’ his first title defense.

The fight with O’Malley was entirely one-sided, but with O’Malley set to defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili later in 2024, Vera is not completely out of the title picture should a new champion be crowned. At 31 years old, Vera is already the owner of the most finishes in the UFC bantamweight division, and his next win will put him in sole ownership of having the second-most wins in division history.

Deiveson Figueiredo’s Last Fight

As one of the two key figures recognized for essentially saving the UFC flyweight division from extinction, Figueiredo moved up to bantamweight in late 2023 as he entered the latter stage of his career. Since ending his two-year-long rivalry with Brandon Moreno, Figueiredo has gone 2-0 in the bantamweight division and opened the iconic UFC 300 card with a submission win over Cody Garbrandt.

While he has been known for having fight-ending power, Figueiredo has now won three of his last five victories by submission. By tapping out Garbrandt in the first fight of UFC 300 on April 13, Figueiredo also became the first person to submit ‘No Love’ in his 20-fight career.

Key Statistics

Of his 23 wins as a professional, Deiveson Figueiredo has won 18 inside the distance with nine knockouts and nine submissions. The Brazilian has won more fights by decision; as he has reached the championship level, most of his wins are still predicated on his fight-ending power and submission skills. Neither of the two will likely be of any use against Marlon Vera, who has never been finished in his lengthy career.

In 23 UFC fights, Vera has not even been knocked down while typically wearing damage extremely well. Vera was close to going down in his last fight when Sean O’Malley had him against the ropes with a perfectly timed knee straight to his face, but the bulletproof durability held up. Figueiredo has been finished twice before—both by Brandon Moreno—but has also tended to be fairly durable. Both fighters own elite finishing abilities but counter with top-notch defensive resiliency, setting the table for an intriguing clash of styles.

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