Video: Deiveson Figueiredo tries to punk Brandon Moreno in final UFC 270 faceoff

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Francis Ngannou reacts to Dana White not putting belt around his waist, skipping UFC 270 press conference Francis Ngannou addresses Dana White’s absence from the octagon after his win in the UFC 270 main event not to mention skipping the post-fight press conference as well as his plans for the future after completing his current contract.

Brandon Moreno sad to see Cody Garbrandt in career slump: ‘Shows you how cruel the sport can be’

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While some may take shots at Cody Garbrandt’s recent career slump, Brandon Moreno took a different route.

The UFC flyweight champion has been recently keeping a close eye on Garbrandt, as the ex-UFC bantamweight titleholder dropped to Moreno’s division in hopes to renew his career and start a campaign towards flyweight gold last month at UFC 269.

Unfortunately for Garbrandt, his flyweight debut was unsuccessful. He was finished via TKO by New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France.

“It was sad,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “You get carried away by the hype because they start doing all the promos, and they start promoting Cody Garbrandt ,and you kind of start believing like, ‘Hey, he could be something interesting in the division.’

“But then what happened happened, and you start reflecting on a sober mind. It was a tough scene for Cody. He was knocked out at 135 pounds. His chin was touched. He cuts the weight – who knows how the brain was? Then you give him a Kai Kara-France, who hits very hard, and I know it because I already fought him. It wasn’t a good situation for him, and it’s sad.

“Of course, on the money side, a fight with Cody Garbrandt would’ve been very good, but Kara-France did what he had to do, and he looked great.”

Garbrandt conquered the 135-pound title, defeating the legendary Dominick Cruz in a dominant decision win in 2016. He was unbeaten and just 24 years of age. However, he then went on to go 1-5 and saw his title reign and contention in the UFC dwindle away.

“He beat Dominick,” Moreno said. “He lost against T.J. Dillashaw twice, then Pedro Munhoz. He then beat Raphael Assuncao, who’s not in the best part of his career, and then loses to Font (and now Kara-France).

“It’s so crazy. This shows you how cruel the sport can be. I love the sport, but I’m aware that this sport is rough. It’s f*cked. It’s ugly. But yeah, being at the highest of highs to now going through a very difficult time, I’m not going to beat a man while he’s down. I just hope that he finds a lot of clarity and that he does well in whatever he wants to do next.”

Once seeing him as a future opponent, Moreno isn’t even sure if Garbrandt should continue fighting. He wishes the former champ well in whatever he decides to do, but he can’t ignore that Garbrandt has been finished four times in his last six fights.

“Speaking of the future, it’s not only talking about 125 pounds, it’s about talking bout his entire career as a mixed martial artist,” Moreno explained. “Is it even healthy for him to keep on fighting? He’s been cracked in his last fights, and he’s fallen. That’s dangerous. Let’s hope that he gets together with his family and makes a good decision for his future because speaking about the health factor, it can be dangerous.”

Gallery Brandon Moreno def. Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263: Best photos View 35 photos

Who is Brandon Moreno’s wife Shirley Moreno?

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Brandon Moreno has been married to Shirley Moreno for more than 10 years. Both Moreno and Shirley hail from Mexico. Over the course of the career of ‘The Assassin Baby,’ Shirley has consistently accompanied him to his fights.

The couple has three children together – three daughters, to be precise. Their oldest daughter, Maddie, was born in 2014. Maddie is known to be an excellent gymnast. She’s been a competitive gymnast since 2019.

Meanwhile, Moreno and Shirley’s second daughter – Megan – was born in 2018. After bravely dealing with a few health issues early in her life, Megan eventually recovered and is often seen in her father’s social media posts.

Furthermore, the couple’s third daughter – Morgan – was born in 2021. Akin to her older sisters Maddie and Megan, Morgan is part of several social media posts put forth by Brandon Moreno.

Apart from her public appearances and Moreno’s social media posts, not much is known about Brandon Moreno’s wife. Shirley has seemingly chosen to keep additional details regarding her personal life private.

She’s managed to do so despite her constant presence alongside her husband Brandon, who has lately turned into a huge star for the UFC, particularly in their native Mexico.

Teddy Atlas has picked Brandon Moreno to beat Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 270

In an edition of The Fight with Teddy Atlas podcast, Atlas picked Brandon Moreno to win his trilogy fight against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 270.

The legendary boxing trainer lauded Figueiredo’s striking power but believes he’s reached his ceiling as a fighter. Additionally, the 65-year-old highlighted that Moreno is still evolving as a fighter. Atlas stated:

“I see a very well-rounded guy. I don’t see any weakness in his [Moreno’s] game. And I see him only getting better because of what I took the time to explain before. Where, mentally, which is 75% in this game, where he realizes how good he is now. He realizes that he belongs. I don’t think, going in, he was a 100% sure he belonged. He was pretty sure he belonged, but maybe not a 110% sure. Now he’s 150% sure he belongs and he more than belongs. He leads the pack.”

Their first fight witnessed Figueiredo successfully retain his UFC flyweight title after fighting Moreno to a majority draw at UFC 256 in December 2020. The rematch saw ‘The Assassin Baby’ win via third-round submission and become the new UFC flyweight champion at UFC 263 in June 2021. The Mexican is now set to defend his title against the former champion in their trilogy matchup at UFC 270 on January 22nd.

UFC 270 Embedded, Episode 3: Brandon Moreno shows off his glorious singing voice

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UFC 270: Brandon Moreno building his legacy via MMA’s rise in Latin America

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The UFC brings its first pay-per-view of 2022 to Honda Center in Anaheim, featuring a heavyweight title fight between former training partners.

It is challenging to create a better storyline for UFC 270 on Saturday than the first title defense of hulking champion Francis Ngannou, who has finished 10 of his 11 victories in the Octagon via ferocious knockouts, against interim champion Cyril Gane, unbeaten and virtually unchallenged in his 10 UFC bouts.

The co-main event, however, is a tasty trilogy title bout in the lightest men’s division. The prospect of Brandon Moreno, making his first flyweight title defense, squaring up against former champ Deiveson Figueiredo has fight fans salivating.

But there is an undercurrent to this UFC 270 card that is more wave than ripple.

The rising tide is in the form of Moreno, who became the UFC’s first Mexican-born champion when he dethroned Figueiredo in June. And the boats being lifted are the Latin American fighters benefiting from Moreno’s meteoric ascension.

UFC President Dana White, with his background and affinity for boxing, has long had his eyes on making MMA thrive in Mexico. “It took longer than I thought it would. But that kind of does make sense because those people have boxing gloves running through their veins,” White said.

Patterns had developed for the sport’s rise in other countries, based largely on fans being able to aspire to become champions like Conor McGregor in Ireland, Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya and Ngannou in Nigeria and Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski in New Zealand and Australia.

So White knew what needed to happen in Mexico.

“What you got to do is you have to get the younger generation training in MMA. And you got to have a Mexican-born champion, and now we finally have one,” White said.

And the flashpoint for the revolution might be in Tijuana.

CREATING A CULTURE

The 125-pound king known as “The Assassin Baby” won’t let anything deter him from Saturday’s mission.

Moreno and Figueiredo fought to a majority draw 13 months ago, then Moreno tapped out the Brazilian champ in the third round in June to win the belt.

Their third fight comes with Figueiredo, who exuberantly and graciously congratulated an emotional Moreno seven months ago, bad-mouthing the Tijuana native for some perceived old bad blood involving his new coach, former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo.

“He’s trying to sell the fight. Yeah, it’s not my way. I respect him,” Moreno said.

Moreno shrugs off the trash talk. What he’d rather highlight is the fact he is joined on this card Saturday by three of his teammates from Raul Arvizu’s Entram Gym in Tijuana.

“The most important thing right now is extra motivation. You know, because think about these kinds of moments,” Moreno said with a wide smile. “Four or five years ago? Yeah, I mean, four guys from a Mexican team of mixed martial arts fighting in a pay-per-view card?”

Lightweight Genaro Valdez and welterweight Michael Morales make their UFC debut. Strawweight Silvana Gomez Juarez looks to avenge her first time in the Octagon. Having all four of his clients on the same card has been as convenient as it’s been meaningful for manager Jason House.

“This team has a great culture, they’re family, and it means the world to me. I think what Brandon has done is really opened the doors wider for other teammates to have these opportunities,” House said.

Moreno watched as the UFC launched its Latin American developmental program in 2012. He was one of many sent to Albuquerque in 2014 – all expenses paid – to train and evolve the sport. Then came “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” reality show series, but as fighters were signed, a number of them were later released.

Moreno himself was among a flurry of 125-pounders let go in 2018 as the flyweight division was on its deathbed. He went and won the LFA flyweight title and got signed back into the UFC in 2019.

Since then, he has gone 4-0-2 in the UFC, won the belt and helped reinforce a Tijuana team of fighters.

And if you weren’t sure of Moreno’s emotional investment in his teammates, footage of him in the corner of Valdez, for his frenetic second-round TKO victory over Patrik White featuring a blistering and breathtaking first round on Oct. 5 on Dana White’s Contender Series, tells the story.

Moreno’s teammates are brimming with gratitude. To be part of fight week at the Anaheim Hilton for UFC 270?

Un sueño, they said. A dream.

“It’s like a dream because I see other times the UFC on TV,” said Valdez (10-0), who fights Matt Frevola. “And I say, ‘One day, I stay here.’ And a couple of my friends fighting in the UFC, when I go to the house and see the UFC … one day, one day I feel like I’ll live my dream.”

ENTER ENTRAM

Valdez began boxing when he was 13. After his dad died, he took a few years off, then jumped back into MMA when he was 20.

Now 34 and boasting a 10-0 record, Valdez had his first pro MMA fight nearly six years ago just after starting at Entram. He said he used to sleep on the floor of the gym, sometimes struggling to make enough money for food or medical care.

“He’s been one of the top talents in Mexico for a long time and has an amazing record,” House said. “He put on I thought one of the most gutsy performances in all of (Contenders Series) this past season, and we’re very excited to see him make his first walk to the Octagon.”

As for Valdez sleeping on the floor at Entram? The gym now boasts four floors, with apartments and rooms for the fighters to stay.

“Our head coach, Raul, he built kind of a little neighborhood, you know, he built some rooms,” Moreno said. “All these dreams come with helping each other and, yeah, hopefully, this year a new generation of fighters from Latin America are coming.”

Morales is one of them. The 6-foot-tall 170-pounder, like Valdez undefeated and making his UFC debut, is only 22 and arrived at Entram from Ecuador.

Morales’ parents are judo black belts, so he was training when he was 5. Ten years later, he made the transition to MMA and fell in love with the disciplines. He made his pro MMA debut shortly after turning 18 and is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Nikolay Veretennikov on Dana White’s Contender Series in September.

Morales (12-0), who takes on Trevin Giles on Saturday, couldn’t stop smiling Wednesday. “Brandon is everybody’s inspiration. All of us new fighters have more opportunities thanks to Brandon,” he said through a translator.

Juarez, 37, is another South American import. She was fighting on the regional scene around South America before making the move and feeling welcome in Tijuana.

The Argentinian strawweight, scheduled to appear on Dana White’s Contender Series on Oct. 12, made her UFC debut on just a few days’ notice and lost to Loopy Godinez in the opening round.

Now Juarez (6-3) has had a full camp to prepare for Vanessa Demopoulos on Saturday.

“This is everything that I’ve worked for to get here,” Juarez said through a translator. “It’s something that it’s like the experience is better than words can even say. Being around Brandon and being around the camp is something that’s indescribable.”

Moreno doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to his Entram teammates. He hosts them at his Las Vegas home and takes them to the UFC Performance Institute, where they receive elite training and nutrition and tips on maximizing their careers.

For Moreno, he’s looking to build a legacy, and not only for his future and family.

“The impact of all these good moments of my life is helping other guys to get their own dreams done,” Moreno said. “So I’m connecting the UFC with the Latin American fighters. Now it’s their own job to do it, to fight in the UFC and win their fights. And I’m so happy to be a little part of this journey.”

UFC 270

When: Saturday

Where: Honda Center

How to watch: prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)