UFC 277: Dana White says it was ‘disrespectful’ to let Deiveson Figueiredo confront Brandon Moreno
- UFC president not happy after Brazilian gets into the Octagon following Moreno’s interim title win
- ‘It was an in the moment thing. Then when he got up there I was thinking it was rude, this kid is having his moment,’ White says
Dana White said it was “disrespectful” to allow Deiveson Figueiredo into the Octagon after Brandon Moreno became the interim flyweight champion in Saturday night’s UFC 277 co-main event.
The divisional champ and Moreno faced off to hype up an impending fourth fight in their epic rivalry, after “The Assassin Baby” had finished Kai Kara-France by third-round TKO at American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas.
While the interaction between the pair turned out to be wholly respectful, with the cabal of hulking security guards ultimately not required to intervene, UFC president White was still apologetic.
“It was kind of an in the moment thing,” White said at the UFC 277 post-fight press conference.
“Then when he got up there I was thinking that was f****** rude, this kid is having his moment, he’s got Figueiredo in his f****** face.
“But it happened. It wasn’t horrible. We meant no disrespect to Moreno, but it came off pretty disrespectful.”
During their interaction, Figueiredo demanded they unify the belts in his home country of Brazil, having twice fought Moreno on American soil, with plenty of Mexican fans in the crowd cheering their fighter on, as they did in Dallas – where “Deus de Guerra” was subjected to boos.
“This guy right here, tonight is his night,” Figuereido said. “He’s the champion. And I have a lot of respect for him. And these boos around here, you’re gonna learn to show respect, because there’s two fighters here that respect each other. They’re in here to put on a show for all of you.”
Moreno agreed on the spot to fight in Brazil, calling for it in December, and White was not not averse to the idea either – though the promotion’s return to the South American country may not match that timeline.
“Yeah, we’re planning on hopefully going to Brazil next year,” he said. “Let’s see what this crazy world throws at us in the next six months.”
