Figueiredo stops Benavidez, flyweight title remains vacant

In what was a worst-case scenario for the UFC’s fledgling flyweight division, on the morning prior to UFC Fight Night in Norfolk, Virginia, Deiveson Figueiredo weighed in at 127.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds above the flyweight championship cutoff, rendering him ineligible to win the vacant title.

The flyweight championship was, however, on the line for Joseph Benavidez, who was the first one on the scale, weighing 125 pounds and despite his opponent missing weight, was eligible to win the title.

With a division potentially hanging in the balance, Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in the second round following a right hand that he landed shortly after an unintentional clash of heads that opened a large cut over the eye of Benavidez and was missed by referee Dan Miragliotta.

The flyweight championship, which was vacated by bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo in recent months after he opted to defend his 135-pound title, now remains vacant and puts the future of the division in question.

It had been widely reported that the UFC had considered shutting down the flyweight division and with more than half of the division’s roster getting cut over the past two years, this championship bout was expected to restart the division and instead left the promotion with more questions than answers.

“The belt is coming,” Figueiredo said in his post-fight interview. “I’m going to be the next flyweight champion, there’s no doubt. Next time I’m going to make the weight and the belt will be around my waist.”

Spencer wins dominantly, potentially earns featherweight title shot

With a featherweight title shot hanging in the balance and a highlight reel knockout from Megan Anderson earlier in the evening, there was plenty of pressure on Felicia Spencer to deliver in her co-main event bout against Zarah Fairn and she did just that.

After exchanging on the feet with Fairn, Spencer went to her bread and butter, taking Fairn down, establishing dominant position and landing strikes relentlessly from mount, earning a first round TKO victory.

Spencer, who defeated Anderson last May, is coming off of a co-main event loss to former featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.

During the event, featherweight champion Amanda Nunes was on Twitter, scouting her potential future opponents and a report from Brazilian outlet Combate stated that Nunes was expecting to defend her featherweight title in May at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo.

“I like both winners tonight. Now it’s up to Dana White. I’m ready for either,” Nunes tweeted following Spencer’s win.

“I’ll talk with the UFC and see what’s next, at the end of the day, it’s up to them, but I feel like I deserve the shot,” Spencer told the UFC in a release that was sent out following her win.

Spencer improved to 2-1 in the UFC with both of her wins coming in the first round.

Attendance and Bonuses

UFC Fight Night at Chartway Arena in Norfolk drew 7,098 attendees with a $402,958 (U.S. dollars) gate. 

The Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded to Anderson for her first round knockout win over Norma Dumont and Jordan Griffin for his modified guillotine choke submission win over T.J. Brown.

The Fight of the Night bonus went to Gabriel Silva and Kyler Phillips for their back-and-forth fight that Phillips went on to win via unanimous decision.

Each fighter earned an additional $50,000 USD.

Report: UFC planning event in Saskatoon

According to a report from MMA Fighting’s Steven Morocco, the UFC’s first Canadian event of 2020 will be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on June 20.

The event would be the promotion’s second trip to Saskatoon.

The potential venue would not confirm that the event was booked, but acknowledged that the UFC were looking at dates in June to host an event.

"No contract has been signed off just yet and nothing is done until you have a signed contract," SaskTel Centre executive director Scott Ford told CTV Saskatoon’s Francois Biber.