Co-Main Event Spotlight | Deiveson Figueiredo vs Montel Jackson

Once the king of the flyweights, Figueiredo finally made the move up to 135 pounds in late 2023 and quickly asserted himself. He tallied a trio of wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, imoroand Marlon “Chito” Vera in nine months to park himself right on the edge of the top-5. His momentum was halted when he dropped a decision to Petr Yan in November 2024, and the bandwagon came to a complete halt when a knee injury ended his night against Cory Sandhagen in May. 

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At 37 years old, “Deus Da Guerra” is likely in the final chapter of his career, but he remains a highly skilled fighter with the ability to finish a bout in any area. 

Montel Jackson

In a division full of personalities, Jackson chooses a quieter demeanor, one who lets his fighting do all of the talking. Despite his success, his biggest hurdle in gaining momentum with the fanbase is probably his activity level. Since earning his contract in 2018, Jackson fought multiple times in a year just three times, and he fought once per year from 2022 until 2025. His fight with Figueiredo breaks that streak, and ideally, fights will come together more quickly as he moves up the rankings. 

As far as his work in the Octagon, Jackson is excellent. With a base in wrestling (he was once on a path toward the Olympics) and rapidly improving striking, Jackson is a problem in all areas. His most impressive performances came in 2023 and 2024 when he scored first-round knockout wins over Rani Yahya and Da’Mon Blackshear, the latter of which came 18 seconds into the fight. 

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With a couple of bonuses under his belt and a win over Daniel Marcos in May 2025, Jackson could finally start receiving the flowers he deserves should he put away Figueiredo. 

Meeting in the Middle

Serving as the co-main event, this matchup should highlight some of the best traits of the bantamweight division. Both men are balanced in their skills with power and speed on the feet to go along with rock-solid grappling and submission skills. On the feet, Jackson will have the speed advantage, but Figueiredo has a knack for controlling the distance. The Brazilian mostly feints on the feet before sitting down on a big strike, averaging just 2.82 strikes landed per minute. On the other side, Jackson uses his speed and the threat of his wrestling to open up opportunities on the feet, averaging 3.22 strikes per minute while only absorbing 1.39 per minute. 

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Jackson is the more aggressive wrestler and averages about three takedowns per 15 minutes, but he’ll have to navigate Figueiredo’s jiu-jitsu. “Figgy” has nine submissions on his record, with four of those coming in the UFC Octagon. Jackson will have the size advantage over the former flyweight champion as well, standing five inches taller and boasting a 7-inch reach advantage. Taking advantage of or mitigating those tools will play a major factor in the shape of this fight.