Dating back to the days when he watched Pride FC, Deiveson Figueiredo has been enamored of fighter nicknames.
He needed one for himself and, despite not being a big fan of the critically acclaimed, uber-violent video games series, gravitated to Kratos, the eponymous “God of War.”
Thus, “Deus da Guerra” — the game’s title roughly translated to Portuguese — was born, and the Brazilian son of a farmer rained chaos upon the UFC flyweight division for years, eventually winning and defending the championship and forming one half of a legendary tetralogy of fights against Brandon Moreno.
“My kids like that much more because of the game, but I just identify myself with that character,” Figueiredo explained via interpreter to The Post this week regarding Kratos, whose striking image of pale white skin and bright red swash across his eye and head the fighter mimics with bleached hair and with crimson streak. “I like the idea of painting. I like the idea of just looking like Kratos. I like the whole ‘God of War’ concept.”
Much as Kratos, in the games, has put together an incredible second act slaying Norse gods in recent titles after mowing down the Greek pantheon in the original trilogy, Figueiredo is well on his way to conquering a second weight class.
Figueiredo (24-3, 18 finishes) will be one step closer if he defeats former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in a UFC Fight Night (more like “Fight Morning” stateside) on Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+) in Macau, China.
Already 3-0 at 135 pounds after leaving his former, lighter weight class behind and with wins over ex-champ Cody Garbrandt and 2024 bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera under his belt this year, Figueiredo’s name already is on the lips of current champ Merab Dvalishvili.
Though the UFC appears to be heading toward matching Dvalishvili against unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov for his first title defense, it wouldn’t be a stunner to see Saturday’s victor leapfrog his way into a championship fight.
Dvalishvili already identified Figueiredo as a more attractive opponent than Nurmagomedov, and the Brazilian undoubtedly is the more accomplished in the octagon.
“He’s a more dangerous guy,” Dvalishvili said the night he became champion in September, when he dethroned Sean O’Malley. “It excites me more.”
That only can be music to the ears of Figueiredo, who turns 37 next month.
Not getting any younger — but, he says, aiming to fight four times a year (if the UFC would oblige) — Figueiredo must first pass the tough test against Yan, whose rule at 135 pounds for a time overlapped that of the Brazilian’s 125-pound reign.
Yan is noted for his striking, while Figueiredo is well rounded but more likely in recent years to get a finish via tapout than knockout.
“I’ve been training a lot of boxing and kickboxing,” says Figueiredo, who has as many wins by KO as he does by submission. “I know he trains in Thailand. I’m working a lot on the clinch and making sure I’m ready for that.”
Earlier in the week, Figueiredo and Yan (17-5, eight finishes) posed for a faceoff in front of a fountain, with video capturing Yan say something to his opponent — neither of whom natively speaks the other’s language and nor have they publicly shown strong command of English — that left each man smiling.
Yan told MMA Fighting, he warned of a very tough night ahead for the former flyweight.
Figueiredo recalled it a bit differently.
“I think he told me he loves me. I just told him I love him back,” Figueiredo jested. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know what he said.”
One thing that’s not so tough these days is the weight cut, which no longer requires an extra 10 pounds be shaved from his frame a day before a fight.
Figueiredo said he felt “a little smaller than the competition” for his bantamweight debut last year against Rob Font but was better acclimated by the time he tapped out Garbrandt at UFC 300.
“For my second fight, I was already feeling good with the body,” Figueiredo said three days out from the fight. “I feel monstrous right now. I feel like I got the size.”