The lore of Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting a bear at a fairly young age is something that most of us already know. However, Khabib isn’t the only UFC champ who grew up dominating not just other fighters but animals as well. UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo also comes under the same bracket as Khabib in this regard.

Ahead of his fight with Alex Perez this weekend at UFC 255, Figueiredo and his manager sat down for a conversation with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Anyone who watches the UFC will know about Figueiredo’s accolades inside the Octagon. However, not many know about his humble beginnings from the small city of Soure, Para in Brazil.

The UFC 125-pound champion, via his manager Wallid Ismail, told his fans about how he fought buffaloes and horses while growing up.

“He is so confident it’s unbelievable. He says he’s gonna kill this guy on Saturday… When he was young, he fought against buffaloes. Throw the buffalo down, you know what I mean. He dominated the horse in the dungeon. This way he grew up doing it,” his manager said on behalf of the champ.

Deiveson Figueiredo confident of knocking out anyone in his weight class

Figueiredo is a well-rounded fighter with devastating power in his gloves. He should’ve won the belt in February itself had he not missed the weight. However. he left no doubts with his second win over Benavidez in July.

Riding an impressive four-fight win streak, Figueiredo seems confident of shutting down Perez this weekend.

“This is what people need to understand. He grew up fighting and dominating fierce animals. When he fought a man like him in the same weight I have, he’s gonna kill anybody. He’s gonna knockout everybody,” his manager added.

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Perez, however, wasn’t the original opponent for Figueiredo this weekend. He was supposed to fight former UFC bantamweight kingpin Cody Garbrandt. However, the latter pulled out of the fight, and hence, Perez got his maiden shot at UFC gold.

Following the missed weight in February against Benavidez, Figueiredo has learned his lessons. His weight is already on point five days before the fight. If he wins this weekend in a dominant fashion, he should be in the conversation for the Fighter of the Year.

Read More: All You Need to Know About Deiveson Figueiredo