UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is getting right back to work.
Less than two hours after he successfully defended the 125-pound title against Alex Perez at UFC 255 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Figueiredo verbally agreed to defend the belt against top contender Brandon Moreno in the co-main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, multiple sources told ESPN.
Moreno has verbally agreed to the fight as well, sources said.
As a result, Figueiredo, who lives in Brazil, will remain in Las Vegas to train for the quick-turnaround title fight.
The 21-day turnaround would be the quickest turnaround for a champion and/or challenger in a UFC title fight, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Figueiredo (20-1) submitted Perez via first-round guillotine in what was his first title defense. Meanwhile, earlier on the card, Moreno defeated Brandon Royval via first-round TKO. The win extended Moreno’s unbeaten streak to five in a row.
Afterward, Moreno expressed frustration over the fact that the UFC initially booked Figueiredo to headline this card against former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and then gave the fight to Perez after Garbrandt pulled out because of injury.
“To be honest, I was very sad when UFC [gave] Cody Garbrandt the opportunity for the title,” Moreno said. “You know what? I don’t care. I don’t need a title. I need to be the best in the division. If I wanted a title, I could buy one on UFC Store [online].”
UFC 256, which is scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, is currently slated to be headlined by Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight title.