Mexico has its first native UFC champion, as Brandon Moreno submitted champion Deiveison Figueiredo to become the undisputed UFC flyweight champion. The duo fought to a draw back in December, both 21 days separated from their previous fight. That fight was, as the scorecards suggest, very evenly matched. Tonight’s fight was less so.
Brandon Moreno def. Deiveson Figeuiredo via Submission (rear-naked choke), 2:26 of Round 3
Brandon Moreno walked to the cage with a visible increased sense of confidence, while Figueiredo carried his usual fight-ready intensity. As the fight began, Figueiredo seemed to be looking for a one-punch knockout, overextending on most of his strikes. One example came in the first round, when Moreno scored a knockdown off of a jab that caught the now-former champion off-balance while throwing a big right hand.
Figueiredo recovered, however, and slighly improved in the second round, getting Moreno to the ground. In the third, though, Moreno got “Deus da Guerra” to the ground and took the back as he was trying to get up. Some time with back control and a body triangle spelled the beginning of the end, as Moreno wrapped up a rear-naked choke at 2:26 of the third round.
A former TUF competitor, Brandon Moreno was the last seed in his season. While he came to the UFC and won some fights, he was unceremoniously released after two straight losses. He went and earned the LFA flyweight belt before coming back a vastly improved fighter. Those improvements have now taken him all the way to the UFC belt for one of the greatest underdog champion stories in UFC history.
***
Embed from Getty Images
