UFC President Dana White dropped a handful of major announcements earlier this week on social media, including the finalized main card for the upcoming UFC 290 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently made official for Sat., July 8, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
There’s just one little problem.
The flyweight matchup between former 125-pound champion Deiveson Figueiredo and No. 9-ranked Manel Kape — previously scratched because of the Brazilian’s medical woes — did not magically reassemble for White’s big reveal. Figueiredo remains injured and will not be competing in July.
“The Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Manel Kape fight is still off despite Dana White’s UFC 290 announcement, Figueiredo confirmed to me,” MMA Fighting reporter Guilherme Cruz wrote on Twitter. “Like Figueiredo told me last week, he’s not cleared by the doctors at the moment.”
Figueiredo (21-3-1) was teasing a jump to bantamweight after losing to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 earlier this year in Brazil, but it seems his new management has convinced “Daico” to stick around the 125-pound division for the time being. When and where that return happens remains to be seen.
As for Kape (18-6), he managed to shake off a pair of early losses to kick off his UFC career and has since won three in a row, including his victory over David Dvorak late last year. No word yet on what the promotion plans to do with “Starboy” in terms of the UFC 290 card but a replacement opponent is likely.
For the latest UFC 290 fight card and PPV lineup click here.