At UFC Fight Island 8, Jerome Rivera will take on the UFC Flyweight Champion, Deiveson Figueiredo’s brother, Francisco Figueiredo. The bout will serve as an appetizer for the main card, headlined by Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa.
Figueiredo (11-3-1) brings a diverse arsenal but also brings power into each of his fights. His inactivity is worrisome, yet each time out he finds a way to get the knockout. However, in his most recent bout, he went to a split decision with Eduardo Souza.
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Especially on a week culminating with the return of the “Notorious” Conor McGregor, there is definite heat behind this bout. With the grappling prowess of Rivera (10-3), many have this stylistic clash marked on their calendar. The winner will leave the UFC bantamweight division on notice.
Jerome Rivera talks pandemic training
Specifically, Rivera expressed his passion to perform come fight night. After discussions about how his training is going, he told staff at AllAccessMMA.com the following,
“Training during a pandemic is tricky because I want to have good etiquette and keep everyone around me in my circle safe and happy but at the same time this is my livelihood and I have no other choice but to do things such as grapple and spar so it is a little scary knowing I am possibly putting people at risk at times but I’ve been doing my best to cross my t’s and dot my i’s.”
Discipline is all too familiar for Rivera, so he looks to make a statement at UFC Fight Island 8. However, given Figueiredo’s name, many believe this could be his time to emerge as a rising prospect.
In addition, the bantamweight, Rivera mentioned the advantage of having a longer training camp than usual. Since winter break was a bit longer than anticipated, Rivera believes he will enter this pivotal bout feeling better than ever.
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