On Monday, March 25th, former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno confirmed that he is taking a step back from MMA with an announcement to press and fans.
Brandon Moreno‘s UFC journey hasn’t been smooth sailing, and there aren’t many other fighters that have been on a similar journey.
In his statement, Moreno explained how he needs time for his body and, ‘more importantly’, his mind to recover from years of stress that he has been through. The 30-year-old added that his ‘mind is stressed’ but suggested to UFC fans that he will return in the future.
Here is a look back at the five best moments from Brandon Morenos’ undeniably amazing career.
Moreno suffers a loss to Pantoja and is cut from the UFC
Although this isn’t a ‘best moment’ in his career for obvious reasons, it is a major part of his UFC journey.
In a rematch of their Ultimate Fighter scrap back in 2016, Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja were matched up on the prelims of a Fight Night event in 2018. After suffering another loss to the Brazilian, ‘The Assassin Baby’ was removed from the promotion as the UFC began making 125lb cuts, considering removing the flyweight division entirely.
After the loss, Moreno got on the mic and promised the UFC fans that one day, he’d become a UFC champion. At that point, it seemed like a pipeline dream.
Over a year later, he took a fight on LFA 69, where he beat Maikel Perez winning the vacant flyweight title.
The UFC gave him a second chance just three months later.
Beating Kai Kara-France at UFC 245
His return to the UFC didn’t go as he would’ve wanted as he drew in his comeback fight to Askar Askarov. He fought again just three months later against New Zealander prospect, Kai Kara-France.
This fight marked a turning point in the career of Brandon Moreno as he showed the UFC his championship potential and exciting fight style, picking up the first win of his second UFC tenure.
The Mexican then went on to win two more fights extremely impressively, scoring a decision win over Jussier Formiga, and a first-round finish over Brandon Royval.
His win against Brandon Royval came on the prelims of UFC 255, which was headlined by then-flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo. This put him firmly on the Brazilian’s radar.
From prelim fights to challenging for a title in a main event
While Moreno was grinding his way through the UFC prelims, Deiveson Figueiredo was accumulating title defenses and separating himself from the rest of the pack.
Unfortunately for Moreno, his title fight against Figueiredo came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was typical of his journey to that point.
Going into his first UFC main event as a big underdog, Moreno showed his Mexican heart and infectious style, taking ‘Deus Da Guerra’ to the scorecards, where the judges were completely split with their scoring, resulting in the fight being a majority draw.
Despite the story once again going against him, this set up the start of an incredible rivalry that would go on to benefit Moreno massively.
Pipeline dream becomes reality and Figueiredo rivalry begins
The promotion afforded Moreno an immediate rematch six months later because of his impressive display in his first title challenge outing.
As silly as it sounds, the draw in his prior fight with Figueiredo actually benefitted Moreno.
The fans that may not have already been exposed to his infectious personality definitely were in his UFC 256 fight, with the UFC being one of the only promotions still running events during COVID. This resulted in Moreno gaining more fans than he may have ever imagined he’d have.
He put a stamp on the rematch with the Brazilian, submitting him in round three, finally getting his hands on the UFC flyweight title, three years after getting cut from the promotion. Although people may have scoffed at his promises following his 2018 loss to Pantoja, the Mexican stuck to his word.
The rivalry with Figueiredo was sparked and they went on to fight a total of four times, making for one of the best and deepest rivalries in the sport. Moreno won the quadrilogy, ending the three-year battle at UFC 283, with Moreno winning two of the four fights, with one being a draw.
Moreno announces UFC hiatus following string of losses
The 30-year-old taking a step back from competing in MMA is a decision we as MMA fans must respect and take inspiration from.
There have been many instances within even just the past few months that UFC fighters have spoken about how their mental health has taken a hit following losses. Dustin Poirier and Robert Whittaker have both recently opened up about their struggles.
Moreno following suit can only be seen as a positive thing in the sport/community where we look at fighters as superheroes who are just born to fight. The fact of the matter is, Moreno along with many others, are putting their bodies on the line for our entertainment, but that is not what’s important.
At the end of his announcement, Moreno implored the UFC fans ‘not to forget’ him and that he knows he can come back and once again become a UFC champion. After the journey ‘The Assassin Baby’ has been on, he has picked up the biggest and most important quality of all, the heart of a champion.
“It’s not a goodbye or anything like that, it’s just wait for me, be patient with me. The last time that happened, I came back and I became a world champion. When I return, I’m going on a tear. I still think I’m an incredible fighter and I have all the qualities to be a champion again.” Moreno said.