Brandon Moreno on Deiveson Figueiredo’s ‘Smart’ Bantamweight Move: Will His Power Translate?

Brandon Moreno believes that ex-rival Deiveson Figueiredo made the right decision by moving up to bantamweight.

Former flyweight champion Figueiredo (21-3-1 MMA, 10-6 UFC) will make his 135-pound debut against Rob Font (20-7 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The main card will air on ESPN following preliminaries on ESPN+.

Moreno and Figueiredo were involved in four title fights, with Moreno getting the last victory by stopping Figueiredo at UFC 283 to unify the flyweight titles. Figueiredo has not fought since then.

“I gave him that advice before the third fight against him,” Moreno told MMA Junkie regarding Figueiredo’s move to bantamweight. “But I think it’s a smart decision. He’s big, man. He was a really huge ’25er. My only question about this fight is if he can maintain the same power in the 135-pound division.

“At 125, he was always the larger fighter in the middle of the octagon and put a lot of pressure with a lot of power in the right hand. I want to see if he can retain the same power in the ’35 division.”

Moreno (21-6-2 MMA, 9-3-2 UFC), who lost his title in the fight after to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290, sees Font as a formidable challenge for Figueiredo. He’s interested to see how Figueiredo does without having the size advantage.

“Rob Font is a real challenge for him,” Moreno said. “It’s a real fight and he has experience and the size. I think the size is not an advantage for Figueiredo in this one. So, let’s see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie