Edmonton — Former two-time UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno is looking for a shot at a third title, but he understands that opportunity may not come right away.
Moreno (22-8-2) earned a one-sided unanimous decision over a tough Amir Albazi in the UFC Edmonton main event on Saturday, which saw the Mexican star put on one of his best performances in recent memory. Coming off the high of the win, Moreno was bullish on fighting for the belt, but knows there are others in line.
“I would love to fight for the title tonight. My goal is to keep this kind of performance in my next fight,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Rogers Place in Edmonton. “But I mean, tonight I feel so connected. Everything was on point, was perfect. My timing, my distance, my takedown defense. Hopefully I’m going to put all my effort to show this to the world in my next fight.”
As to whether his performance on Saturday was enough to jump the line, “I don’t know. Hopefully. I want to be honest with myself, I think maybe I have to fight one more time before the title. But I don’t know what the UFC’s thinking right now. Maybe they get so impressed with the performance tonight, they say ‘hey maybe he can get the title next.’ But I know [Brandon] Royval is there, Kai Kara-France is there trying to get the opportunity for the title next. So I don’t know. I’ll be ready for whatever.”
Next month, flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja will take on promotional newcomer Kai Asakura in something of a surprising title booking at UFC 310. Given Moreno has lost three times to the current champ, an Asakura win might give him a clearer path to a title shot. Moreno, however, isn’t rooting for the Japanese star to upset Pantoja.
“I don’t wish nothing bad against Pantoja. I just want to watch the best fight ever. Who wins just wins, and that’s it. If I have to fight Kai Asakura for the title, let’s go. If I have to fight against Pantoja for the title, let’s go,” Moreno exclaimed. “I think especially in my last fight against him, I have to fix a few mistakes I did in that fight, but I think I really did it. I think I can beat Pantoja. I realize it’s stupid to say that when you lose three times in a row with the same person, but man, I’m a fighter. I’m a competitor. I just want to fight and win.”
Watch the full UFC Edmonton post-fight press conference appearance by Brandon Moreno above.
