What a difference two years make.
With his grisly rear-naked choke finish of Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 172 on Saturday, Deiveson Figueiredo put a figurative stranglehold on an Ultimate Fighting Championship men’s flyweight division that once seemed in danger of being closed down entirely. With a second definitive win over the No. 2 man in the division—and a successful trip to the scale this time—“Deus da Guerra” can now enjoy the view from the top for a little while as the next contender is sorted out.
Of course, men’s flyweight has not merely survived but reinvented itself.