WATCH: Deiveson Figueiredo leaves Cody Garbrandt red with insanely tight choke at UFC 300

Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Cody Garbrandt via submission (rear-naked choke) in the opening fight of UFC 300.

WATCH: Deiveson Figueiredo leaves Cody Garbrandt red with insanely tight choke at UFC 300

Deiveson Figueiredo chokes out Cody Garbrandt in the UFC 300 prelims (Source: (@UFCNews) / X)

UFC 300’s monumental card promised to be one for the history books, and it started off with a bang. Former flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo fought his second 135-pound bout against former champ Cody Garbrandt. Two former champions in an early prelims opener proved quite high-octane. Not only that, but Figueiredo took the rival to the mat and came out victorious.

Many enthusiasts and peers had expressed their awe at the two former champions opening the epic card. Consequently, it lived up to the hype. Figueiredo shocked the MMA community with his move to bantamweight after UFC 283 loss. However, so far, he has performed well and could potentially challenge for the title in the future.

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“Deus da Guerra” sported a ‘God-Of-War’ red stripe and came out strong in the early minutes. After a few quick ins-and-outs, jabs, and kicks in, they went for ranged shots. Cody Garbrandt opened up a wheel kick. After a tentative four minutes, Figueiredo had only three significant strikes. But he made up with good left shots and a takedown.

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In the second round, Figgy came in the Southpaw stance, immediately going for variable pacing. With a really good clinch from behind, he took Garbrandt down. While Garbrandt managed to tune in and isolate his arms, it was useless. The former flyweight phenom Figueiredo dropped his chest and separated the rival. Immediately, he got on Garbrandt’s back with a body triangle. Soon, the Brazilian got the job done at the 4:02 mark, Round 2 via rear-naked choke.

Fight fans react to Deiveson Figueiredo choking out Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300

UFC 300 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas saw quite a thrilling opening bout. Former flyweight stalwart Deiveson Figueiredo met Cody Garbrandt (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) to make his mark in the bantamweight ranks.

Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300's early prelims
Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300’s early prelims (Source: Instagram/IMAGO)

The fight had entertaining action and even the grappling sequence was intense. Fight fans went on X to react to the opening bout. Journalists Helen Yee and Ariel Helwani also reacted to the result. Check out how the fans reacted to the fight:

Accordingly, the opening stint on the UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill card saw Figueiredo (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) win the scrap. He defeated Garbrandt via submission (rear-naked choke) well into the second round. In his post-fight interview, he made a case to work up the ranks to the belt. It remains to be seen if Figueiredo can keep this amazing pace going.

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