Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno was supposed to take the rest of 2024 off, but it was a tough task and he’s back at UFC Edmonton against Amir Albazi on Saturday night.
“I’m a competitor. When I (decided) to take a little break of competition everything was fine in that moment. Three weeks after I started to think again like damn I want to fight,” Moreno told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“I want to fight, but then is when my wife, my family, helped me a lot with that. My wife and my coach (was) like hey you have to take a break. You have to take it serious. You have to rest, be with your family, with your daughters, make more nice moments with them first.”
Moreno (21-8-2) felt the itch to return early on in his break. His inner circle of family and friends helped him put it all in perspective, but the itch became too strong to not come back at least one more time in 2024.
“I had this fight with myself in my mind to take this break serious, but yeah after I decide to take the break I was like damn I want to fight right now. I think I made the best choice,” he said.
“My energy right now feels amazing. I feel so hyped and it’s crazy how my last two training camps I (didn’t) feel like this. I (felt) all the stress, all the responsibilities, in some point that explode in my mind. I wasn’t really enjoying this kind of moments.”
UFC Edmonton wasn’t the first chance that Moreno got to return in 2024. Noche UFC, also known as UFC 306, took place at The Sphere in Las Vegas in September. The card celebrated Mexican Independence Day with an impressive presentation put on inside The Sphere.
“Man they offered me the fight. They offered me the fight against Amir at Noche UFC. For sure was 100% very hard for me because like I said before I’m a competitor,” Moreno told Cageside Press.
“After I decide to take a break, one month after, I was talking with myself like damn I want to fight! Was very hard watch all the productions, watch all the nice environment of Noche UFC, was incredible. At the same time I had the opportunity to enjoy all the show.”
During his time away the UFC signed Rizin FC champion Kai Asakura and put him right into a title fight with flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja. Many in the flyweight division raised an eyebrow wondering if that was fair to the rest of the division. It’s not something seen in the UFC since the purchases of PRIDE and Strikeforce.
Moreno sees it a different way.
“I think it’s a positive thing for the division because the division is strong. We have younger fighters, a new generation, very strong. With good records, amazing performances, but at the same time at the top 5 everything looks very stuck,” Moreno told Cageside Press.
“Like Brandon Moreno having rematches with everybody, and that’s it. I think it’s very fresh for the flyweight division to bring a guy like Kai Asakura. A good striker who can bring a different perspective of the roster, of the top 5, it’s going to be an interesting match between Pantoja and him.”
It wasn’t hard to get a prediction from him.
“I can’t go against Pantoja. He beat me three times in the past. He’s very tough. He has a weird survival ability. That’s a real ability, but let’s see what happens with Kai Asakura.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Brandon Moreno above. He takes on Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC Edmonton on Saturday night.
