Deiveson Figueiredo is rumored to have agreed to have a 4th title bout with Brandon Moreno this summer. However after seeing the recent UFC card – Figueiredo thought he should pivot to another option. After seeing how Kai Kara France and Askar Askarov bout played out the Brazilian flyweight champion had a brilliant idea – Kai Kara France should face him and not Moreno.
In an instagram post Figueiredo addressed UFC president Dana White and wrote:
“I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunities that you have given me, my family and my country. You know that I would fight anybody, anytime and anywhere. That’s being said, I wanted to fight Brandon Moreno for the 4th time, because I know this is what the fans want. Until his Team crossed the line with racist comments. Calling me a monkey and even going to the extent of photo shopping a monkeys face on top of mine. You know what I’m talking about @raul_entram”
Figueiredo went on to tag one of Moren’s coaches – Raul Arvizu. Arvizu is rumored to be the one he’s accusing of perpetually racist behavior. Figueiredo went on to claim:
“When all this happened I went on a campaign to stop racist and prejudice in my city where it is predominately Indians and blacks. As the UFC Champion of the world I ask you to consider my wish. I wish to fight the next contender in line [Kai Kara-France] who has earned his spot.”
This is especially hilarious considering the close ties between Figueiredo and current Brazilian president Bolsonaro.
In one of his weekly Facebook broadcasts in 2020, Bolsonaro declared: “Indians are undoubtedly changing … They are increasingly becoming human beings just like us.”
And this isn’t a one time thing either – in the 1990s, Bolsonaro, then a little-known congressman, publicly complained about how troops had failed to obliterate Brazil’s indigenous communities.
“The North American cavalry were the competent ones because they decimated their indigenous people in the past and today, they don’t have this problem in their country,” he said.
This is all in addition to an Indigenous organisation in Brazil asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro for “genocide” and “ecocide”, accusing him of persecuting native peoples and destroying their homelands.