In recent years, Brandon Moreno has grown to become one of the flyweight division’s most recognized and entertaining fighters. From his championship saga with Deiveson Figueiredo, to his Fight of the Year candidate bout with Alexandre Pantoja, “The Assassin Baby” is no stranger to putting on spectacular contests. Making his return to competition since losing a split decision to Brandon Royval back in February, Moreno jumps back into the saddle to face the surging 125-lb. contender Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 246.
For Albazi, a victory over one of the weight classes’ most revered champions would do much in the way of cementing his own shot at the flyweight strap. Having not lost a fight since April 2019, and after picking up a win against Kai Kara-France in his last outing, “The Prince” has the perfect opportunity to announce his claim to the throne. Despite a litany of health problems leading up to their scratched encounter earlier this year, Albazi remains adamant that a triumph in the main event this weekend will secure his shot at current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Looking for his own chance to settle the score with “The Cannibal,” Moreno will have a lot on his plate when he takes on the elite wrestler from Iraq. However, knowing his tendency to bite down on the mouth piece and move forward, we will surely be in for a treat in this highly-anticipated flyweight scrap.
Brandon Moreno: The Early Years
While known today as a two-time MMA champion in the UFC, Moreno’s early fascination with combat sports began with quite the opposite fascination. In his younger years, he grew up loving the sport of boxing, but it was his desire to learn capoeira that prompted him to take up martial arts for the first time. However, he wasn’t able to find a gym that specialized in said style, so, instead, he decided to switch his focus to MMA after finding a place to train that offered kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Stepping into the cage for his professional debut on April 30, 2011 as a bantamweight, a 17-year old Moreno scored his first win with a first-round armbar over Atiq Jihad. Despite this dominant freshman outing, the future UFC star would suffer a bit of an inconsistent run over the next year, going 2-3 in his next five fights.
In late 2012, though, Moreno started on what ended up becoming the best stretch of his early career, winning his next 11 professional bouts in a row. It was during this same stretch that he moved to his permanent home in the flyweight division in 2014, earning the World Fighting Federation 125-lb. championship and defending it three times
Moreno Cast on TUF 25 and UFC Comes Calling
This dominant win streak piqued the interest of Dana White, who selected Moreno to compete on the 25th season of The Ultimate Fighter as a contestant in the Tournament of Champions. In this season, 16 of the top flyweight title holders outside of the UFC were chosen to battle it out in a seeded bracket for the reward of both a UFC contract and a shot at then pound-for-pound standout Demetrious Johnson. Unfortunately, Moreno didn’t get the chance to test himself against “Mighty Mouse,” as he was soundly eliminated from the tournament after losing to another future champion, Alexandre Pantoja.
He didn’t win the tournament, but the Mexican was offered a spot on the competition’s finale card, where he fought and defeated Ryan Benoit by split decision. While he just barely got the victory in his first UFC appearance, Moreno showed out in spades in his next fight when he tapped out Dustin Ortiz, picking up a coveted Performance of the Night bonus for his troubles.
Now seen as a burgeoning contender, Moreno looked to be on his way toward greatness at 125 lbs. After dropping a pair of decision losses to Sergio Pettis (brother of Anthony Pettis) and old foe Pantoja once again, he was ultimately released from his contract and cut from the promotion.
An LFA Title and UFC Redemption
More than a year later following his departure from the UFC, Moreno made his comeback under the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) banner in a bid for the company’s flyweight strap opposite Maikel Pérez. Despite the long layoff, the boxing specialist appeared to be in fine form, securing a fourth round knockout to claim the belt and get himself back into the win column.
Although he only competed once outside of the UFC since he was served his walking papers, his title-winning performance in the LFA was enough for the biggest MMA promotion in the world to call him back to the big leagues. In his return bout, Moreno crossed paths with the touted Russian fighter, Askar Askarov, who was 11-0 at the time. Their hotly-contested encounter went the full five round distance, but, in the end, the match was scored a draw, causing much conversation within the mixed martial arts community, as most pundits saw the fight for Moreno.
Deadlock Leads To Rematch
Building upon the lessons of his first bout of his second UFC tenure, Moreno soon compiled an impressive three fight win streak, taking down some of the top flyweights on the planet like Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga, and Brandon Royval. This eventually set “The Assassin Baby” up for a high-profile tilt at UFC 256 against then 125-lb champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
In the early goings of the contest, Figueiredo’s power posed a serious threat to Moreno, with the flyweight king landing several hard shots that seemed to rock the challenger. However, following an accidental low blow in round three by the champion (a blow which cost Figueiredo a point), Moreno somehow became more fresh. His stamina seemingly restored, the Mexican pushed the pace on the Brazilian, utilizing his volume striking to gain the edge in activity. Putting on an instant classic for the division, both men were left stumped when the fight was scored a draw, leading to fans around the globe to demand an immediate rematch between the two.
Six months later, the pair were set to face off once more for flyweight gold. Though some were expecting the rematch to go to the cards like last time, Moreno took the judges out of the equation in emphatic fashion by submitting Figueiredo in the third round to crown himself the UFC Flyweight Champion. Not only was this the first time he made it to the top of the division, Moreno also made history by becoming the first Mexican-born fighter to win a UFC title.
Moreno Loses Belt and Gains Interim Title
In the first defense of his newly-acquired belt, Moreno came to blows for a third time against his nemesis, Figueiredo at UFC 270. Keeping with the tradition of their fights, both men kept their third consecutive bout supremely competitive; Moreno outlanded “Deus da Guerra” and Figueiredo managed to knock down the champion three times. This scrap was also a close one on the score cards, but sadly, it was Moreno who came out on the wrong end of a split decision, relinquishing his title to his hard-hitting rival.
Originally slated to meet Figueiredo for an unprecedented fourth match later that year, Moreno, after the champion was sidelined with an injury, fought Kai Kara-France in a runback for the interim flyweight championship. Prior to the event, Kara-France hadn’t been finished by strikes in over ten years. Moreno, bringing that streak to an end, utterly dismantled his Ultimate Fighter alumni by delivering a solid kick to the New Zealander’s liver, starching him with ground and pound to win the interim strap.
Attempting to unify the belts in his next pay-per-view appearance, Moreno next looked to finally settle the score with Figueiredo in the UFCs first ever championship tetralogy at UFC 283. Here, the Tijuana native put a definitive end to his three year saga with his Brazilian adversary by achieving a third round TKO by shutting Figueiredo’s eye with a hook to regain his place as the best flyweight in the sport.
Pantoja Takes Title and Moreno Falters vs. Royval in Rematch
Although he had prevailed against his perennial rival, Figueiredo, Moreno had a tough test ahead of him in his first defense of his second reign as champion when he had to battle the only man to have ever beaten him twice (once in an exhibition and once as a professional), Alexandre Pantoja. In what would become a frontrunner for the Fight of the Year in 2023, both champion and challenger threw everything they had at each other, rocking one another multiple times with stiff punches. By the time the fight was over, both competitors had landed nearly 200 strikes each and painted the canvas a dark red, but it was Pantoja who ultimately walked away with the victory due to gaining the edge with his superior grappling.
Looking to bounce back for a chance to face “The Cannibal” again, Moreno secured a main event showcase with Brandon Royval for a second meeting at UFC Fight Night 237. Over the course of his recent bouts, the former two-time champion boasted a deep gas tank and a high-volume striking style. However, whether it was because of his past fights taking their toll on him, or perhaps it was just an off night, Moreno unfortunately dropped a back-and-forth split decision, setting his title hopes back by a significant margin.
Albazi Awaits Saturday Night
Now feeling refreshed since his break from competition, Moreno is in need of a major win to keep himself relevant in the UFC title picture. A win over the streaking Amir Albazi would surely put his name in the hat for the next challenger to Pantoja’s throne, but his back is undoubtedly against the wall within the upper echelon of the 125-lb class. With his need for redemption against the man who took his strap on the line opposite a serious threat in the division, the stakes for Moreno have never been higher.
He always delivers in that Octagon 👏
Brandon Moreno returns Saturday night in the #UFCEdmonton main event! pic.twitter.com/QvCeipMGsx
— UFC (@ufc) November 2, 2024
