Deiveson Figueiredo Reveals He Fought at UFC Des Moines with Fractured Jaw

About a month after facing Cory Sandhagen at UFC Des Moines, Deiveson Figueiredo learned that he fought that night with a fractured jaw.

“My dentist asked for an MRI before I started a teeth whitening process, and when the image came, she found the fracture,” the former flyweight champion told Sherdog.com.

According to the Brazilian, the fracture happened five weeks before the fight.

“I was doing sparring when I got hit hard with a straight punch,” Figueiredo said. “I thought I had dislocated my jaw, and Patricio [Freire] immediately asked to stop. Since it was really painful, I stopped sparring for three weeks, only doing specific training like ground-and-pound and [shadowing]. Basic stuff that could help me to burn calories and make weight.”   

Figueiredo lost to Sandhagen when he hurt his knee during a grappling exchange that resulted in the bout being stopped at the 4:08 mark of Round 2. According to “Daico,” that injury won’t affect his UFC return.  

“The injury I had in my knee was not a surgery case. I'm taking care [of it] only with physiotherapy,” Figueiredo said. “My focus now is 100% on my jaw recovery. The doctor gave me six or seven months to calcify and have a complete recovery, but I already returned to training. I´m just waiting for the UFC to decide my next opponent. I can't wait to return to the Octagon in my best condition.”