UFC Fight Night 169: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Conor McBragger
- May 21
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 169: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo took place on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia — broadcast live on ESPN+ as ESPN+ 27. The card drew 7,098 fans for a gate of $402,958. It was the second UFC event in Norfolk. February 29 is a Leap Day, occurring only once every four years. The event was the last UFC card before the COVID-19 pandemic halted live events.
The main event was a vacant UFC Flyweight Championship bout between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo. Figueiredo missed weight by 2.5 pounds (127.5 lbs vs. the 125 lb limit) and was declared ineligible to win the title. Only Benavidez could claim the belt. Figueiredo won by TKO at 1:54 of round two, leaving the flyweight title vacant. Magomed Ankalaev stopped Ion Cutelaba by TKO at 0:38 of round one in a controversial co-main event stoppage. Megan Anderson and Jordan Griffin earned Performance of the Night. Kyler Phillips and Gabriel Silva earned Fight of the Night.
Leap Day Norfolk — The FLW Championship That Wasn’t
Chartway Arena holds approximately 12,000. The 7,098 attendance was modest for a championship fight card. The FLW championship context: Henry Cejudo had vacated the title after UFC 238 in June 2019 when he retained the BW championship and voluntarily relinquished the FW belt. Benavidez, fighting for the FLW title for the third time in his career after losses to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 152 in 2012 and UFC 152 in 2013, was the established senior FLW contender. Figueiredo was the aggressive Brazilian challenger with finishing quality.
Figueiredo’s weight miss — 2.5 pounds over the 125 lb flyweight limit at 127.5 lbs — was attributed to a medical condition, but the result was clear: Benavidez was the only fighter eligible to win the title. The fight proceeded at a catchweight. Figueiredo was deducted 30% of his fight purse, with that portion transferred to Benavidez. The competitive stakes remained significant for both fighters despite the title eligibility restriction.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, February 29, 2020 (LEAP DAY! Only occurs every 4 years; ESPN+ 27; 2nd UFC in Norfolk; LAST UFC CARD before COVID-19 pandemic)
📍 Venue: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
👥 Attendance: 7,098
💰 Gate: $402,958
📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ 27 (ESPN+ streaming)
🏆 Main Event: Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo — Vacant UFC FLW Championship (FIGUEIREDO MISSED WEIGHT by 2.5 lbs at 127.5! Only Benavidez eligible to win title; Benavidez’s 3rd FLW title fight!)
✅ Result: Figueiredo def. Benavidez via TKO (punches) — R2, 1:54 (TITLE REMAINS VACANT! Figueiredo wins fight but cannot win belt; Benavidez’s 3rd consecutive FLW title fight failure!)
Main Event: Figueiredo’s R2 TKO & the Vacant Title
Round one was competitive: Benavidez was active and aggressive with power punches and escape from an early Figueiredo armbar attempt. Both fighters traded wild power shots in the late stages of round one, with Benavidez producing effective offensive sequences. Entering round two, the fight was contested and either fighter’s round depending on judging criteria.
In round two, as the wild exchanges continued, Benavidez was split open badly after a clash of foreheads. As Benavidez raised his hand to address the blood, Figueiredo unleashed a right hand that dropped Benavidez against the cage. Figueiredo followed with hammerfists until referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight at 1:54. Figueiredo’s post-fight interview included an apology for missing weight — ‘I’m so sorry for not cutting weight. But I told you I’d be the future flyweight king’ — and his manager Wallid Ismail apologised on his behalf. The flyweight throne remained vacant.
Cutelaba’s Controversy, Anderson’s PoN & The Card
Magomed Ankalaev’s TKO of Ion Cutelaba at 0:38 of round one was the Norfolk card’s most commercially controversial individual result. Cutelaba appeared to stop fighting and drop to the canvas without being decisively struck. Referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight. Cutelaba and his team protested the stoppage, arguing he was not out and had simply stumbled. The Virginia commission subsequently denied Cutelaba’s appeal to change the result. The controversy produced post-event media debate about the referee’s decision-making and Cutelaba’s conduct during the exchange.
Megan Anderson’s round-one TKO of Norma Dumont Viana earned Performance of the Night: Anderson was a 31-year-old Cabarita Beach, Australia Women’s FW who had previously lost to Holly Holm in her most recent UFC appearance. Her Norfolk KO of Dumont was a competitive validating result. Jordan Griffin’s Performance of the Night in the featherweight division came from an early-round finish of T.J. Brown. Kyler Phillips and Gabriel Silva’s Fight of the Night BW preliminary bout produced a competitive result that both earned $50,000 for.
Full Results
Main Card (ESPN+)
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Benavidez — TKO (punches) — R2, 1:54 — FLW (BUT TITLE VACANT! Figueiredo missed weight 2.5 lbs; Benavidez 3rd consecutive FLW title fight loss; Figueiredo headbutt cut + right hand + hammerfists; TITLE REMAINS VACANT!)
Felicia Spencer def. Zarah Fairn dos Santos — TKO (punches) — R1, 3:37 — Women’s FW
Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cutelaba — TKO (punches) — R1, 0:38 — LHW (CONTROVERSIAL STOPPAGE! Cutelaba appeared to stop fighting/stumble; referee stopped fight; Cutelaba protested; Virginia commission denied appeal to change result!)
Megan Anderson def. Norma Dumont Viana — TKO (punches) — R1, 3:31 — Women’s FW (PoN $50k; Anderson redemption win after Holm loss)
Grant Dawson def. Darrick Minner — Submission (RNC) — R2, 1:38 — FW (Dawson missed weight; 6-fight win streak building)
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Kyler Phillips def. Gabriel Silva — BW (FotN $50k each; competitive preliminary BW war)
Brendan Allen def. Tom Breese — MW (Allen building MW career; future top-ten MW!)
Luis Peña def. Steve Garcia — LW (Pena early career build)
Marcin Tybura def. Sergey Spivak — HW (Tybura experience edge over young Spivak)
Jordan Griffin def. T.J. Brown — FW (PoN $50k; Griffin early finish)
Spike Carlyle def. Aalon Cruz — FW
Sean Brady def. Ismail Naurdiev — WW (Brady unbeaten record; future WW contender!)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Kyler Phillips + Gabriel Silva — $50,000 each (competitive BW preliminary war)
🥇 Performance of the Night: Megan Anderson + Jordan Griffin — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Figueiredo’s weight miss (127.5 lbs; 2.5 over) for a FLW championship fight is one of the most significant missed weigh-ins in championship UFC history given the outcome.
• Benavidez’s third consecutive FLW title fight failure (Johnson, Johnson, Figueiredo) — most individual FLW title fight losses without winning the belt.
• February 29, 2020 (Leap Day) — UFC event on a date that occurs only once every four years.
• First time two DQs occurred at a single UFC event was FN167 the previous week; FN169 followed with the weight miss + vacant title combination.
Legacy & Impact
Figueiredo’s Norfolk win — competitive win but title-ineligible — set up the UFC FLW Championship fight against Joseph Benavidez in the rematch at UFC Fight Night 172 (UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2) at UFC Apex in June 2020, where Figueiredo won by submission in round one to become the UFC FLW Champion. His subsequent FLW championship run produced title fights against Alex Perez, Brandon Moreno four times, and Alexandre Pantoja before losing the title.
Ankalaev’s controversial Norfolk TKO of Cutelaba was a LHW career step that produced his unbeaten UFC run through wins over Paul Craig, Thiago Santos, and Magomed Omarov before the interim LHW title fight against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 282 and the subsequent LHW Championship at UFC 294. Sean Brady’s Norfolk debut win was the beginning of an unbeaten UFC WW career that produced top-five WW rankings. Norfolk was the last UFC event with a live audience before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended in-person events.
FAQ
Why did Figueiredo miss weight?
Figueiredo’s team attributed the weight miss to a medical condition that prevented a full weight cut. The specific nature of the condition was not disclosed in detail. His 2.5-pound miss — coming in at 127.5 lbs vs. the 125 lb FLW limit — was one of the most consequential individual weight misses in recent UFC championship history given his subsequent TKO victory. He was deducted 30% of his fight purse, with that money given to Benavidez.
What was Benavidez’s third title shot significance?
Benavidez had fought Demetrious Johnson for the inaugural UFC FLW Championship at UFC 152 in September 2012, losing by split decision. He fought Johnson again in the rematch at UFC 154 in November 2012 after being named #1 contender, losing by unanimous decision. His Norfolk appearance against Figueiredo was his third FLW title fight — and his third failure. The title remained vacant even after Figueiredo’s win, as only Benavidez had been eligible to claim it.
What was Cutelaba’s controversial stoppage?
At 0:38 of round one, Ankalaev landed a combination on Cutelaba that appeared to rock him. Cutelaba dropped to the canvas in what appeared to be a defensive reaction rather than a knockdown from a decisive power shot. Referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight. Cutelaba and his team immediately protested, arguing that he was not out and had simply lost his balance or reacted to the initial shot. The Virginia commission reviewed the protest and denied Cutelaba’s appeal to change the result from a TKO loss.
What was the COVID-19 significance?
UFC Fight Night 169 was held on February 29, 2020 — the last UFC event with a live audience before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the UFC to cancel or postpone events starting in mid-March 2020. UFC 249 in April 2020 and the subsequent UFC Apex bubble events represented the promotion’s adaptation to the pandemic. Norfolk’s 7,098 fans were among the last live UFC audiences for several months.
Who was Sean Brady?
Brady was a 27-year-old Philadelphia, Pennsylvania welterweight making his UFC debut against Naurdiev at Norfolk. His debut win extended an unbeaten professional record that continued through eight consecutive UFC wins before his first loss. His subsequent UFC WW career produced wins over Jake Matthews, Belal Muhammad, Christian Aguilera, and Kevin Holland, reaching a top-five WW ranking.
What was Ankalaev’s career position after Norfolk?
Ankalaev was a 27-year-old Makhachkala, Dagestan LHW whose UFC career had produced wins over Marcin Prachnio, Klidson Abreu, and Dalcha Lungiambula before Norfolk. His controversial TKO of Cutelaba — disputed but upheld — maintained his unbeaten UFC record. His subsequent career produced wins over Paul Craig, Thiago Santos, and Magomed Omarov before the interim LHW title fight against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 282 and the LHW Championship at UFC 294 in October 2023.
References
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