According to Brandon
Moreno, there was just something different in the lead-up to
his rematch with Deiveson
Figueiredo at UFC
263.
After their first bout ended in a draw at UFC 256 this past
December, Moreno felt that he had a mental edge heading into
Saturday night. It was something that he noticed during the
pre-fight promotion.
“I have so much respect for Deiveson. Obviously, he tried to make
it something special, to put more eyes on the fight, pushed me in
the press conference. But actually, when he pushed me, I knew I won
the fight. I won the fight there,” Moreno said at Saturday’s
post-fight press conference.
“My confidence was very high and he looked different. He didn’t
want to look me in the eyes, he put his sunglasses on, he just
looked different. When the fight started, I started very, very
hard, I started with really high pace. That was the game plan at
first and that was it.”
While their first meeting was a “Fight of the Year” contender and
touted by many as the greatest flyweight bout of all-time, Moreno
was in complete control at UFC 263. He dropped Figueiredo with a
jab in Round 1 and controlled virtually all of the grappling
exchanges, right up until he submitted the Brazilian with a
rear-naked choke at the 2:26 mark of Round 3.
“At first, I tried to take the neck very fast, but he defends very
well,” Moreno said of the fight-ending sequence. “He took my hand,
but I kept my body triangle very well. I was very patient in that
moment and then I started to fight again with my hands. I got the
neck under the chin and that’s it.”
Not only did Moreno become the fourth flyweight champion in UFC
history, but he is also the first Mexican-born title holder ever
within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
The crowd, all the arena, so many people… So many Mexicans, so
many Latinos here in Phoenix, Arizona. I fought here before, before
coming to the UFC, so the people know me here in Arizona and
definitely, Arizona has a special place in my heart,” he said.
“That will be very special for everybody,” Moreno continued.
“Actually, I’ll go to Tijuana next Monday with my parents and man,
I want to see it… We have some videos of my gym with a huge TV, 150
people watching the fight and celebrating, very crazy.”
It’s been some kind of journey to the top of the division for
Moreno. After dropping back-to-back fights, he was released from
the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2018, only to return a little more
than a year later. Now, he’s the best 125-pound fighter in the
world.
“I’m enjoying this moment because you never know what happens
tomorrow, you never know what happens next month,” he said. “I’m
enjoying this moment so much. This fight camp was so long, because
I prepared myself not just technically, but mentally too. Six
months. It was crazy. I definitely need to rest because my mental
health is on the line. I need to rest a little bit, but I want to
fight one more time this year and we’ll see. I’m so happy right
now.”