After fighting on home soil for the first time since 2017, Brandon
Moreno wants to do it again in the near future.
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“Hunter [Campbell], who really knows what I deserve? I don’t know
what I deserve,” Moreno said in the Octagon after taking a
five-round verdict over Steve Erceg
in the UFC
Mexico headliner on Saturday night. “But I really believe I can
move the needle and let’s go for the pay-per-view in Guadalajara.
Let’s f—ing go. Let’s f—ing do it!”
Moreno hadn’t fought in his home country since August 2017, when he
fell to Sergio
Pettis in UFC Fight Night 114 headliner. He became the first
Mexican-born champion in promotion history when he defeated
Deiveson Figueiredo in a flyweight title bout at UFC 263, and
he remains one of the biggest MMA stars in Mexico despite having
lost the belt on two separate occasions.
“I have so many emotions, man. The first time I fought here was
2017 against Sergio
Pettis. It was a main event and I lost,” Moreno said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I’ve been holding this
‘Viva Mexico’ for so long, and I finally did it tonight. I’m just
happy, man. I’m just enjoying this moment. I felt all the fight
week, everything feels just different. I have experience. I have
the energy. At the end, I just executed. So I’m happy.”
The promotion
announced on Saturday that its third Noche UFC event — also
known as UFC 320 — will head to Mexico after the first two versions
were held in Las Vegas. Moreno reiterated his desire to be part of
the card during the presser.
“I saw Hunter and he looked very happy with the people, with the
crowd. That’s the thing,” Moreno said. “Who knows how much I move
the needle? Maybe not too much. Flyweights, always with the same
problem. That’s crazy. But I really believe every single time I
step in the Octagon, the people go crazy. That’s the fact. Let’s
see what happens.”
“…. Guadalajara, I think it’s perfect. Even for the UFC, for the
promotion. If they want to get a pay-per-view event for Noche UFC
in September in Guadalajara, I think I’m the right choice. … I feel
today I have enough arguments to raise my hand and say, ‘Hey, I can
be the main event, the pay-per-vie in Guadalajara in September.”