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The first quadrilogy in UFC history came to a close on Saturday, as Brandon Moreno emerged victorious over Deiveson Figueiredo in their fourth meeting in a span of 25 months. The flyweight title fight was stopped before the start of the fourth round, when a cageside physician waved it off due to Figueiredo's right eye closing from swelling caused by a Moreno left hook. The bout co-headlined UFC 283 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and was for the 125-pound title unification.
The outcome was somewhat unfortunate as such an important fight was ended due to an injury, but it should be noted that the injury was caused by a legal punch from Moreno. Figueiredo (21-3-1) reached for his right eye immediately after Moreno landed the left hook, protesting what he thought might have been an eye poke. The punch had a significant effect on the Brazilian and he fell to his back shortly after, spending the rest of the round in defensive mode. The eye was badly swollen and bloodied.
At the time of the stoppage, Moreno (21-6-2) was ahead on all three judges' scorecards: 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27. He out-landed Figueiredo in total strikes 85 to 24, and had 6:52 of control time compared to just 35 seconds for Figueiredo.
The fight marks the end of the first tetralogy in UFC history, with Moreno and Figueiredo first facing off in December 2020, resulting in a draw. Moreno went on to win the rematch in June 2021, before losing a close decision in the third fight last January.
After the loss, Figueiredo, 35, announced his intention to move up to the 135-pound division. Moreno demonstrated a good mix of offensive attacks and was able to defend against dangerous submission attempts by Figueiredo in the first and second rounds. Figueiredo attempted a guillotine in the opening seconds of the fight and again in the second round, as well as a heel hook at the end of the first round. Despite being in enemy territory, Moreno remained composed and began to find his range with left hooks to the body and head.
The doctor's decision to stop the fight due to injury is the first time that has happened in a UFC title fight since Max Holloway defeated Brian Ortega in a featherweight title bout in 2018.