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As Merab Dvalishvili prepares to fight for the UFC bantamweight title at Noche UFC 306, the 33-year-old is already looking ahead to his potential first title defense. Should he get past Sean O'Malley to win the belt, Dvalishvili has his next opponent in mind.
In an interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Dvalishvili discussed both Umar Nurmagomedov and Deiveson Figueiredo as the two most likely next challengers. 'The Machine' singled out Figueiredo as his preference, citing his status as the former two-time flyweight champion and Nurmagomedov's lack of quality wins beyond Cory Sandhagen.
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Shortly after the interview was posted on social media, Figueiredo responded on Instagram. 'Deus da Guerra' said he "knows" Dvalishvili will become the new champion at Noche UFC 306 but simultaneously predicted that he would "finish" him soon after.
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Figueiredo commented:
"I'm 100% prepared, I know Merab will win the belt, so I'm waiting for you to make the world stop, I WILL FINISH YOU MERAB"
![Deiveson Figueiredo commenting on MMA Junkie's Instagram post. [via @mmajunkie on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/09/6f8ca-17256615311652-1920.jpg)
Figueiredo is coming off an impressive win over Marlon 'Chito' Vera at UFC Abu Dhabi, the same event at which Nurmagomedov picked up his signature win over Sandhagen.
Deiveson Figueiredo's UFC bantamweight run
To this point in his career, Deiveson Figueiredo is best known for his record-breaking run in the UFC flyweight division, but he is arguably in the best form of his career as a bantamweight.
Since losing to Brandon Moreno for a second time at UFC 283, Figueiredo has moved up to the 135-pound division and gone 3-0 with wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Vera. His most recent win over 'Chito' was the most impressive as he became the first fighter to knock down the Ecuadorian, who had challenged for the title in his previous fight.
Despite being 36, Figueiredo is now much closer to becoming a two-division champion than perhaps some expected after he completed his rivalry with Moreno. After the win over Vera, the Brazilian moved up to No. 5 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
