Las Vegas, NV — UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns to action in January, in the rubber match of his trilogy against Deiveson Figueiredo.
The UFC 270 co-main event was originally scheduled for UFC 269 this past weekend, but the promotion chose to push the fight back a month. That creates an interesting wrinkle for Moreno — keeping his weight down during the holidays.
“I’m excited for the challenge. Actually it’s my first time fighting in January, so I’m ready. Make diet in Christmas is hard, but I can do it,” he told Cageside Press ahead of Friday’s World MMA Awards in Las Vegas.
Of course, when Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal fell off UFC 269, it felt like the UFC would have been wise to keep Moreno’s fight scheduled as planned.
“When I saw that fight off of the main [card], it was like ‘aww, come on,” recalled Moreno. “But at some point, I was like, I want to fight in Anaheim. I want to be there, because a lot of Mexican people will be there supporting me on that night. So right now, my mind is completely on January 22.”
Having gone from challenger to champ, Moreno suddenly finds himself in the cross-hairs of every flyweight in the promotion. It’s not the easiest of situations to be in, he admitted.
“I need to be honest with you, it’s hard. For example, Right now I’m here, right? Tomorrow, in the morning, my flight is at 7:30 AM. I need to go to the airport, take my flight, to go Tijuana, because I have training tomorrow at 2PM, 3PM, I don’t remember well. So it is what it is. At the same time, when I need to do the interviews, the cameras and that stuff, I need to keep in shape, because somebody is coming for my head. I need to take care of everything.”
Watch our full interview with UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno above! UFC 270 takes place January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
