Glendale, AZ — It’s rare that a fighter gets to the UFC, gets cut, fights their way back, and becomes a champion. Brandon Moreno did that on Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 263, and he’s understandably proud of it.
Saturday during the UFC 263 post-fight press conference, Cageside Press asked Moreno if he had a message to any fighter that has been recently released.
“Man, never give up. Sounds easy, you know? Sounds very, very easy, ‘Never Give Up,’ you know, all of the mentions on social media. The inspirational photos that you watch,” Moreno responded. “At some point, it’s easy, obviously the sacrifice, the discipline, the hard moments when you feel very, very bad, you gotta keep going.”
He continued on, saying
“If you go out of the UFC, it’s not the end of the way. I promise, I really believe it, and I’m the graphical description of that. You can do it, you know…never give up.”
The Mexican champion was released in 2018 when he lost two straight. At the time, that promotion was on the verge of mothballing the 125lb weight class. However, plans changed, and Deiveson Figueiredo eventually went on to become champion. Moreno, meanwhile, fought out of the UFC in the LFA, won the flyweight championship there, and came back into the UFC. On top of that, he was picked last when he competed on ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
All of the doubt, heartbreak, and dedication paid off on Saturday when Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo for the title on Saturday at UFC 263.
As for what comes next? “Askar Askarov is doing very well. Cody Garbrandt wanted to come to the division, he lost his last fight against Rob Font so I don’t know. The trilogy with Figueiredo could be a possibility, but this fight wasn’t even close.”
Watch the full UFC 263 post-fight press conference with Brandon Moreno above.
