Brandon
Moreno wants to bring some stability to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title. Whether or not
he can establish such staying power remains to be seen.
Once again perched atop the 125-pound weight class, Moreno finds no
shortage of suitable challengers in pursuit behind him. He closed
out his historic tetralogy with archrival
Deiveson
Figueiredo at UFC 283, where he reclaimed the flyweight crown
with a third-round technical knockout on Jan. 21. The win moved
Moreno to 9-3-2 inside the Octagon and gave him a 2-1-1 edge in his
head-to-head series with Figueiredo. He now boasts 16 finishes
among his 21 pro victories.
As Moreno turns his attention to his next title defense against
Alexandre
Pantoja in the
UFC 290 co-main event on July 8, here are five things you might
not know about him:
1. His handlers chose a sink-or-swim introduction.
Moreno made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of
17 on April 30, 2011, when he disposed of
Atiq Jihad
with a triangle choke in the first round of their encounter under
the Ultimate Warrior Challenge banner. He went on to fight nine
times as a teenager, compiling an impressive 6-3 record while
learning on the job.
2. Reality television did not treat him well.
“The Assassin Baby” competed on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
as a former World Fighting Federation champion but failed to
advance beyond the first round in the 16-man field.
Alexandre
Pantoja eliminated Moreno from the tournament by submitting him
with a rear-naked choke.
3. Durability has been an enduring quality.
Moreno has never been finished in his 29-fight career, as bouts on
“The Ultimate Fighter”—like his aforementioned loss to Pantoja—are
categorized as exhibitions under Nevada Athletic Commission rules.
All six of Moreno’s official defeats have resulted in
decisions.
4. He keeps good company.
The 5-foot-7, 125-pound Moreno now operates out of the acclaimed
Fortis
MMA camp in Dallas, where he continues his development under
trainer
Sayif Saud.
There, he has access to a number of top-shelf stablemates, from
Alex
Morono and
Geoff Neal to
Diego
Ferreira,
Matt
Schnell and
Ryan
Spann.
5. He was the first of his kind—but not the last.
Moreno became the first Mexico native to capture an undisputed UFC
championship when he struck flyweight gold with a third-round
rear-naked choke submission of Figueiredo in the second installment
of their rivalry at UFC 263 on June 12, 2021.
Alexa
Grasso recently joined him on the exclusive list when she upset
Valentina
Shevchenko for the women’s flyweight crown at UFC 285.