The common goal among most up-and-coming regional (or international) mixed martial arts (MMA) prospects is to one day compete for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Other major promotions such as Bellator MMA, Professional Fighter’s Leagues, and ONE Championship are not far behind. Literally, countless prospects across the globe are all working toward the same career goal, making it difficult to stand out in the sea of competition. As often as possible, MMAmania.com will highlight a different combat sports prospect to keep your eyes on.
Antonio Figueiredo
Age: 25
Height: 5’7”
Weight class: Flyweight
Record: 3-0
Gym: WAR Training Center
Ever since watching Kung Fu movies as a kid, Antonio Figueiredo wanted to be a fighter. Unfortunately, his parents never let him do martial arts like karate or boxing because they were scared of it. However, he started boxing when he hit high school, which quickly turned into training mixed martial arts (MMA).
Figueiredo took his first amateur fight at 18 years old and rattled off seven fights (all while going to college), going 5-2, with one of those losses coming from future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Joshua Van.
His fight with Van was ultra-competitive, and one reason Figueiredo lost the fight was that he was not aggressive enough and wanted to sit back and counter strike. The loss was a blessing in disguise because it lit a fire under his ass and made him become aggressive.
And boy of boy, “Foshow” sure got more aggressive.
In his professional debut, he knocked out German Orpineda Ponce in 55 seconds with a devastating head kick.
He followed up that nasty with another first-round knockout three months later.
He capped off his incredible 2024 year with a 20-second face-plant knockout.
A flyweight with knockout power is always in high demand with the big promotions, and with a couple more fights, they will come calling.
Figueiredo wants to be in the UFC by the end of the year and hopes to do so by going through the Contender Series, which is a perfect fit for a knockout artist like him.
To be honest, 6-0 might be a little too soon for a UFC call, but with all of his amateur fights, his skill set, and the Flyweight division always needing bodies, “FoShow” could get the call soon.
Figueiredo returns to action on April. 27, 2025, at Fury FC 104 against Dominque Herrera (4-0) … someone’s 0 has to go.
For more regional MMA news and notes, click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
