Jeff Smith 
@adminIt was announced this past weekend that UFC 263 will in fact be held in Glendale, Arizona at the Gila River Arena on June 12. The UFC had been hinting for some time that Arizona would be the landing point for the event.
One of the main issues for the UFC has been states allowing for capacity crowds. Of course in this Covid-19 era states (and countries) have been cautious when it has come to sporting events. Now, though, with vaccinations happening and some states already having relaxed restrictions the UFC is going all out for their main events.
UFC in Arizona will be no different. The promotion has put together some very interesting match-ups. We have talked about a few like rising star Chase Hooper vs Steven Peterson in a featherweight match-up. And of course the big name Israel Adesanya taking on Marvin Vettori for the middleweight championship.
It is the other co-main event that might just be the best fight of the night, maybe even the year. We are talking of course of the re-match between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. The last time these two met, back in December at UFC 255, they gave us possibly the best fight of 2020.
That fight went an exciting full five rounds ending in a draw that saw Figueiredo retain his flyweight belt. It was only the second time in his MMA career that “Deus ds Guerra” (God of War) did not win.
For Moreno, it was the second draw of career. Four out of his last five fights he has been the underdog and he has won or drawn in all five. He is showing this underdog has some bite.
In their first clash Figueiredo was massively favored to win, closing at a stunning -445. Nobody saw Moreno putting up as much of a fight as he did. But looking at his previous four fights it shouldn’t be a total surprise.
So what can we expect this time around for this fight? It’s probably even a little more tricky on who to bet on, Figueiredo is still favored, the odds ranging from -239 to -265. A far cry from the -445 he had on their first go around. Showing a little more respect for Moreno to, if not pull off the win, maybe grab another draw.
Moreno line sits between +190 and +225, obviously the bookies are not expecting him to win. But with his previous showings they are not taking chances in losing any more money than they might.
There hasn’t been much social media banter between these two. Figueiredo did try to get it started back in January putting out the tweet,
“You are a cry baby, not an assassin baby, I can still hear you groaning and whining every time my fists pounded your body. I’m training to tear your head”
There was no response from Moreno, instead of a war of words, it looks like they are saving it up for a war in the ring.
