Listen to "Roundtable: UFC on ESPN+ 27 'Benavidez v. Figuiredo (Main Card)" on Spreaker. The fate of the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title will hang in the balance when Joseph Benavidez collides with Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner on Saturday at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Only Benavidez can win the championship, as Figueiredo’s inability to make weight the day before the event—he missed by 2.5 pounds—made him ineligible.

Benavidez, 35, has fought for the undisputed flyweight crown on two occasions, losing a split decision to Demetrious Johnson in September 2012 before being knocked out by “Mighty Mouse” in their rematch a little more than a year later. The San Antonio native has rattled off nine wins in 10 appearances since his ill-fated second showdown with Johnson, a split decision loss to Roufusport’s Sergio Pettis resulting in the only blemish on his resume. Benavidez last appeared at UFC on ESPN 3, where he cut down Jussier Formiga with a second-round head kick and follow-up punches on June 29.

Disgraced by a failed weight cut, the 32-year-old Figueiredo enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 161 in October, when he submitted former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Tim Elliott with a guillotine choke 3:08 into their confrontation. Figueiredo has secured 14 of his 17 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, nine of them inside one round.

UFC Fight Night “Benavidez vs. Figueiredo”—which streams to ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT—will also feature a light heavyweight scrap pitting Magomed Ankalaev against Ion Cutelaba, a featherweight clash matching Grant Dawson with Darrick Minner and two women’s featherweight pairings, as Felicia Spencer battles Zarah Fairn dos Santos and Megan Anderson meets the unbeaten Norma Dumont Viana. In addition, ESPN+ will carry the entire seven-fight undercard at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

A closer look at the UFC Fight Night “Benavidez vs. Figueiredo” particulars:

THE LINEUP

125: Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
145: Felicia Spencer vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos
205: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
145: Megan Anderson vs. Norma Dumont Viana
145: Grant Dawson vs. Darrick Minner
135: Gabriel Silva vs. Kyler Phillips
185: Brendan Allen vs. Tom Breese
265: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergey Spivak
155: Luis Pena vs. Steve Garcia
145: Jordan Griffin vs. T.J. Brown
145: Aalon Cruz vs. Spike Carlyle
170: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Sean Brady

THE RUNDOWN

• Preview
• Weigh-in Report
• Prime Picks
• Pre-Fight Stock Report

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