Bantamweight stars help usher in the Paramount Era on Saturday night, as No. 2 Umar Nurmagomedov faces No. 6 Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 in Las Vegas.
Nurmagomedov (19–1) rebounded from his first professional loss to defending champion Merab Dvalishvili with a dominant decision win over Mario Bautista in October. The former flyweight champ Figueiredo (25–5–1) has won four of six since moving up to 135 pounds and will now face, by far, his toughest test yet.
Nurmagomedov enters as a staggering -1450 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Figueiredo sits as a +850 underdog. The total is set at 2.5 rounds.
Nurmagomedov vs. Figueiredo Preview
Umar Nurmagomedov
Nurmagomedov, 30, has largely lived up to his namesake since his UFC debut in Jan. 2021. The cousin and teammate of all-time great, Khabib Nurmagomedov, bulldozed through the bantamweight division and quickly earned a title shot against Merab Dvalishvili.
Despite getting stunned with his first professional loss, Nurmagomedov has remained undeterred in his pursuit of the bantamweight crown. The Russian sambo specialist, who has recorded two knockouts and seven submissions, bounced back from the defeat with a dominant decision over Mario Bautista — landing 11 of 14 takedown attempts and amassing 10 minutes of control time in the three-round bout.
Deiveson Figueiredo
Figueiredo, 38, has enjoyed a strong run at bantamweight in the twilight of his career, following his iconic quadrilogy with Brandon Moreno. The former flyweight king — whose professional record comprises nine knockouts and nine submissions — has gone 4–2 since bulking to 135 pounds, taking down the likes of Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon Vera along the way.
Still, Figueiredo has struggled against the division’s top competitors. He got stifled by current champion Petr Yan before getting crushed by Cory Sandhagen. While he bounced back with a split-decision victory over Montel Jackson in October, he’ll now face an entirely different animal — the revenge-hungry Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov vs. Figueiredo Pick, Best Bet
Nurmagomedov is a -1450 favorite for a reason. He’s bigger, stronger, faster — essentially everything Homelander claims to be in Season 3 of The Boys. Seemingly all roads lead to the Russian getting his hand raised Saturday night, but a few of those routes can be crossed off the map.
For all his dominance, Nurmagomedov isn’t known for hunting finishes. Rather, he prefers to smother his opponents and rack up control time. Expect him to execute the same tried and true strategy and beat Figueiredo on the judges’ scorecards.
