The UFC returns to Rio for UFC 283 on January 21st, and Brandon Moreno is eager to unify the titles against flyweight rival Deiveson Figueiredo.
Mexican Star Brandon Moreno revealed at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City that he was, at first, dubious of the idea of facing flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in Brazil, but now, he welcomes the idea with open arms.
Past Meetings
Moreno (20-6-2) and Figueiredo (21-2-1) have battled three times already in the UFC Octagon. The first bout took place in December 2020 at UFC 256, where Brandon Moreno was the first person to truly take the fight to Figueiredo and took him all the way to a majority draw. After that wonderful performance, a rematch was booked for June 2021. At UFC 263, “The assassin baby” would shock the world and defeat Figueiredo with a rear naked choke in the 3rd round, crowning himself champion. A third bout was then booked for January 2022, where Figueiredo would get his revenge and reclaim his title.
Since then, Moreno battled top contender Kai Kara-France. Fresh off his KO victory over Cody Garbrandt, Kai Kara-France was in good form ahead of their interim championship bout, but this did not halt Moreno. Moreno hit the Australian with a killer liver kick which sent him straight to the mat. Now in possession of the interim belt, Moreno’s sights will be set on the real thing.
Moreno’s Thoughts on Brazil Battle
Brandon Moreno stated in an interview, “First of all, I was like, ‘Ugh, man.’ Because it’s hard to go to another far country, I don’t know… like a nine-hour flight, then go there with different hours, different food. Everything is very hard when you go to a whole different country.” But his mindset changed for the best, and now Moreno would happily take the fight if and when offered to him. “It’s like ‘Rocky IV,’ man. I want to go to Rio now.”
What are your predictions for the fourth fight?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
