Jake Hadley vs. Francisco Figueiredo Signed For March 19 UFC Card

Jake Hadley (8-0, 0-0 UFC) appeared on the Oct. 12 episode of Dana White’s Contender Series on ESPN+. In the bout, Hadley scored a submission victory over his opponent Mitch Raposo (5-0) in the second round. While his performance was contract-worthy, many were surprised when the UFC President called his name. Hadley missed weight during the weigh-ins by a full pound. Historically if a fighter does not make weight, they won’t earn a contract.

Breaking The Rules

That rule was thrown out the window by White, an action that caused Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard to storm out of the APEX in Las Vegas. When White awarded Jake Hadley the contract, he mentioned that Hadley was “an a**hole” to members of the UFC staff during the fight week. When asked what White was referring to, Hadley was not sure he could speak on the situation, but was apologetic and said it was a “total misunderstanding.” 

Hadley began his pro MMA career in 2018 with Golden Ticket promotions. After a one-off in Bellator and back-to-back victories in Cage Warriors, Hadley received the call to appear on DWCS. In eight straight victories, Hadley has stopped his opponent six times; two via technical knockout and four by way of submission, all due to rear-naked choke. 

Francisco Figueiredo (12-4-1, 1-1 UFC) will make his third walk to the octagon when he welcomes Jake Hadley to the UFC in March. Known as “Baby Fig” for being the younger brother of former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, Francisco looks to get back into the win column after a unanimous decision loss to Malcolm Gordon in July. 

Prior to his UFC debut, Figueiredo was 11-3, mostly fighting for the Jungle Fight promotion out of Brazil. He made his promotional debut in January 2020, defeating Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision. 

About The Event

The March 19 event has yet to be officially announced by the UFC. No venue, location or card has been announced. The event is rumored to be the UFC’s return to London, but no official statement has been made. 

Other bouts currently rumored for the March 19 event include:

• Jack Shore vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
• Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Tom Aspinall
• Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina

Card subject to change

Follow me on Twitter at @SuperbeastCraig to see my latest work. Follow us on social media at @OTHeroicsMMA to stay up to date with all things MMA.

Featured Image Credits to Embed from Getty Images  and Embed from Getty Images