When Brandon Moreno secured a third round submission over Deiveson Figueredo to win the flyweight title, he became the first Mexican UFC champion in the promotion’s history.
“The Assassin Baby” put on a dominant performance in the rematch of December’s flyweight title bout. Moreno accepted the first Figueiredo fight on less than a month’s notice after beating the very dangerous Brandon Royval. He then fought to a draw in what was one of 2020’s best UFC fights.
Moreno’s performance in the rematch truly was spectacular, however. It was perhaps a tier below a McGreggor-Alvarez or Adesanya-Costa level demolition, but a dominant title performance nonetheless. Moreno was able to nearly quadruple Figueredo on significant strikes in round one and was nearly unhittable. In rounds two and three he put his BJJ black-belt to use and was constantly threatening submissions, which he got via rear naked choke in the third.
In addition to becoming the first Mexican UFC Champion, Brandon Moreno also became the youngest champ in history at 27-years-old.
Fans of Mexican descent were well represented in Glendale, as evidenced by the warm reception Moreno received inside the arena. He was also the recipient of plenty of congratulations from across the Mexican community, as well as the greater sports world.
It is also remarkable to note that Brandon Moreno was initially cut from the UFC in 2018. After losing to two very game opponents in Sergio Pettis and Alexandre Pantoja, Moreno was cut and found himself with LFA. After a bounce back win with LFA, he returned to the UFC and has faced a true murderer’s row of opponents. After a draw with Askar Askarov, who may be challenging Moreno again very soon, he has beaten Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga, Brandon Royval and now Deiveson Figueredo.
RELATED: Poland Becomes Fourth Nation to Have Both a Male and Female UFC Champion Following Blachowicz Win
RELATED: Bellator’s Michael ‘Venom’ Page Eyes Eventual Move to the UFC