UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is happy to leave his multi-year rivalry with Deiveson Figueiredo in the past. The pair clashed four times in total, with Moreno leaving the rivalry 2-1-1 at UFC 283, and reclaiming the flyweight crown in the process. In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Moreno expressed how pleased he is to be done with the rivalry, and how he feels his old foe will fare should be move up to the bantamweight division.
“It feels very cool. It feels awesome, just to be out of all the stress, all the pressure, win this rivalry, make history. To be honest, the first time I won the title was more special because it was the first time, that’s it. It’s very simple. This one, I felt like I could beat this guy, so I knew it. Even before the fight, I knew I could beat him. I just went to the octagon, finished the job, and I just feel very happy to show to the world I’m real.”
Moreno Happy To Move On From Figueiredo Rivalry
Moreno believes Figueiredo simply crumbled under the pressure of their historic rivalry, the first tetralogy in UFC history. “He doesn’t like the pressure.
He doesn’t like to be walking back or in a lot of transitions, because he starts to get tired and he starts to get frustrated. At some little point of his mind, he likes to quit. I can see it, and I saw it before, especially in the second fight against him. So the game plan wasn’t, ‘Wrestle with him, or do this with him.’ Nothing very specific. Just push the pace, put a lot of pressure on him, make him feel tired, and then he will want to finish the fight at some point.
I saw the replay with the doctor, I don’t want to say he quit, but his face and his body language looked like, ‘That’s it. I don’t have nothing more.’ And that was the plan.”
Moreno also believes that same instinct will plague Figueiredo in the bantamweight division should he move up. “I train with a lot of ‘35ers. It’s a really tough division.
Number one is lightweight, talking about the most competitive division, and right now, I think second one is bantamweight division, so I don’t know. The guy is huge, very huge. Very huge for 125, but I don’t know for 135. Let’s see what happens, because the guy has a lot of power in the right hand, for sure.
Maybe with less of a weight cut, he can get more energy and more power. I don’t know. I want to see.” What’s next for Brandon Moreno? Let us know what you think in the comments.
