Albazi is an interesting prospect who has been out of action since
early 2020. “The Prince” has a unique resume—still just 28 years
old, he is already a 13-year veteran—and when everything clicks, he
looks excellent, with some powerful striking leading to an
impressive wrestling and grappling game. However, Albazi’s lone
real test prior to his UFC career, a 2019 bout against Jose
Torres, did raise some worry as far as his UFC chances were
concerned. Albazi still fought a smart fight against the UFC vet,
but he adopted a much more passive gameplan that neutralized a lot
of his strengths. So far, it has been all systems go for Albazi
inside the UFC, as he quickly finished Malcolm
Gordon and took a clear decision from Zhalgas
Zhumagulov leading into this long layoff, which ends here
against Figueiredo. The brother of flyweight champion Deiveson
Figueiredo, he follows in the footsteps of many a lesser
sibling in mixed martial arts history, fighting in a style that
evokes his brother without any of the elite tools that make the
champion so special. Both Figueiredos fight behind a slow-paced
style focused on huge moments of opportunity. For the champion,
that works due to his rare power for a flyweight; his brother
typically begins to tire and eventually gets by on an ugly and
clinch-heavy approach. That can still work. Figueiredo did grind
out a debut win against Jerome
Rivera, and a quick kneebar win over Daniel
Lacerda in April proved he us still dangerous. Nevertheless, a
2021 loss to Gordon showed how easily things can go off the rails
for Figueiredo against an opponent he cannot cleanly overpower.
This could get ugly at times, but Albazi should be the more
effective fighter over 15 minutes and able to avoid any major
trouble. The pick is Albazi via decision.
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