Jeff Smith 
@adminIn a surprising turn of events, Francisco Figueiredo ended up with a new opponent for the upcoming May 8 UFC. Over the weekend Figueiredo’s opponent to be Jimmy Flicked shockingly announced his retirement from the UFC. So he will now face newcomer JP Buys in a flyweight division match-up.
Flick’s announcement caught everyone by surprise. His career was looking very promising, as he started off with two convincing wins in the UFC and boasting an overall record of 16-5. But he found that he wasn’t just fighting the other fighters in the octagon, he was fighting personal demons as well.
After announcing his retirement he went on “What the Heck?” to clarify his reasons.
“The UFC never did me wrong. I love everything the UFC did for me. I love the goals that I got to get to the UFC, to the person it made me.
“But what I mean by that is there’s no benefits of beating my body up no more being in the UFC. We have no 401k. We have no benefits. We have no fallback. Fighters are too stupid to unionize, and it’ll never happen, because there’s other fighters that will fight for that money. I love the money I got, but this is just to go show everybody that money doesn’t buy happiness.”
Being estranged from his father and brother, he was hoping that getting into the UFC would help bring his family together. “And it didn’t make a difference. So I found out I was fighting for all the wrong reasons. I was still fighting to get my dad back, to get my brother back, to have my family there again, for my girls to see my dad and my brother. And it didn’t matter.”
An extremely emotional Flick continued talking about his future and what is most important to him.
“I’m fighting for my kids. I’m fighting for my wife, and I’m not going to lose them. And they’re way more than what fighting has ever meant to me. People need to know what goes on in fighters’ lives.” He plans on writing a book about his trials and tribulations in MMA on his way to reaching the UFC.
And as Flick noted, there is always another fighter willing to step in and try to make a name for themselves. And that is exactly what has happened. On a short turnaround, JP Buys has stepped in to take Flick’s place.
Both Figueiredo and Buys have one UFC fight under their belt. Figueiredo, who is the brother of Flyweight title holder Deiveson Figueiredo, showed well in his UFC debut with a win over Jerome Rivera. While Buys had a bit of a stumble, as he lost in a second round TKO to Bruno Silva in March.
Figueiredo was a big underdog vs Flick at +225 (Flick -244) going into the UFC Fight Night. Now, even though the odds have not been put out yet, you can almost guarantee he will be the heavy favorite.
