Brandon Moreno feeling confident ahead of Deiveson Figueiredo rematch at UFC 263

Kevin Iole talks to No. 1 ranked flyweight contender Brandon Moreno about his preparation for his June 12 rematch with champion Deiveson Figueiredo after their first fight in December ended in a majority draw.

Video Transcript

[YAHOO! SPORTS SOUND LOGO]

KEVIN IOLE: Hey, everybody. I am Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports. Welcome back. I appreciate you joining me, I've covered fights for a long, long time and I've covered many fights in Tijuana, Mexico. And the one thing I know, is that you have to be tough to fight there, and you really have to be tough to live there. And my next guest right now, he was born in Tijuana. One of the best there is a-- I'm really excited about seeing his next fight, a rematch of what a lot of people thought was the fight of the year in 2020. I'm talking about flyweight contender Brandon Moreno. Brandon, how are you my friend?

BRANDON MORENO: Hey, Kevin, amazing. Thank you so much. Amazing introduction, and thank you for the space of course.

KEVIN IOLE: I'll tell you what, you had to learn how to fight it at an early age down there. But you know the thing that I like about watching you fight, is that you seem like you're having fun in there. You know you see some people, come here, you out, there like that. You get in the ring and it's like, this is what you were born to do. Like it seems like you love fighting.

BRANDON MORENO: Yeah, I mean it's crazy because I don't have a history in my family of other sports, you know. And, but when I start to fight and I start to notice the sport, was amazing for me I guess. I mean, when I go to the octagon I'm trying to enjoy every single moment in the cage, every single moment in every single round. So right now, I feel in the soul you know.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah. The one the things that's interesting and you see this with a lot of UFC fighters, you kind of started off so, so in the beginning in your career. And after three-- after what, six fights, you were 3 and 3. You've gone 15-2 and 2 since, and one of those trasher of course was in December with Figueiredo. What do you think you learned in those early fights that led you to become this elite talent that you are now?

[SIGHS]

BRANDON MORENO: And I learned about not just my professional career, I think, I learned in my life in general, I need to be very persistent because this life is crazy like a roller coaster. You know a lot of good moments, a lot of bad moments. But definitely the good moments are the best of my life. So I need to be very disciplined, I need to be very persistent in this life. And that's why right now I'm fighting for the title, because I was the UFC release between company. I go again to the company to the UFC beat a lot of really good guys. And then here I am, you know, fighting for the title against Figueiredo trying to make history for me, for my family, for my country. And that is so exciting for me.

KEVIN IOLE: I know. I know it's better than a loss, but you got a draw. But how deflating was it when you heard the announcement that it's a draw? Like, you go through all that in such a great fight, and then there's no winner. I mean, was that tough?

BRANDON MORENO: It's crazy, because, obviously, you don't lost, but you don't, too. It's weird, because you have a different kind of emotions in that moment. And, to be honest, winning or losing that fight in my mind, in that moment it was like, thank you God to give me the opportunity to live this kind of moments, you know. Like, amazing war against Figueiredo, 25 minutes. The fight of the year contender.

Definitely, so that makes me feel so happy. And that's it. Obviously, when you go to your hotel and start to watch the highlights on social media, and start to think about will be do different stuff, you know. But it is what it is. Right now, I have the rematch. That is the most important thing. It was six months of preparations, and I take advantage of any single day of those six months.

KEVIN IOLE: As I mentioned, the rematch is on Saturday, UFC 263. You're in the co-main event in Glendale, Arizona in Healer River Arena. And I guess the question is this. You know, what do you do to raise your game? Because, I mean, I thought both you and Davison were just very high level MMA. You know, for people who say they don't like flyweights in MMA, you are nuts. If you saw that fight, you like flyweights. Right? And what do you have to do to raise your game? Because you fought such a great fight, and you didn't get a win. You got to do something more than you did last time. Have you identified any areas where you can be better?

BRANDON MORENO: So first of all, the first fight against Figueiredo was on short notice. Obviously, it was the same for him. But talking about my personal situation, was it short notice. Was just three weeks to train to make a really good game plan against him, you know. The confidence in that fight was good, but I was just trying to take care of his power, you know. Obviously, he fought really good guys in the past, you know. And he knocked them out, like, badly.

So I tried to take care about his power, about the right hand, because he always looked, like, very powerful, like, very strong. And so I just tried to take care of him. But in this fight, I have the confidence, because I know his power. I know I can support the damage and make damage, too, also. So in this fight, I want to be more aggressive, and I want to put pressure on him.

Obviously, I need to take care of him, because he's real. He's a real fighter. But at the same time, the confidence is very important. And, obviously, the technical part, you know-- I saw this fight, like, a lot of times, and we did a lot of really good stuff. We did some bad stuff. But I think the good stuff was better, you know, in that fight. And I work in all these six months, working in to improve my skills and my abilities. You know what, Kevin? I mean, I'm ready. I'm just ready to fight.

KEVIN IOLE: You know, I wonder if you feel this way, like, that, you know, Figueiredo has got to be-- because he knocked you down a couple of times. He landed some big shots. And I wonder if there's doubt in his mind. Right? Hey, I did everything I could to put this guy away. And he hit you with shots that other people were finished by, and you still were coming. And I wonder, do you feel like, you know, maybe you put doubt in his mind, and that might be an advantage for you going into the rematch?

BRANDON MORENO: You know, it's interesting, because I think the success of Figueiredo in the UFC is about because he's a bully, you know. He want to intimidate you in the octagon. He put pressure. You know, he start to that throw that bombs, you know, a lot of bombs. And that's why he's very successful in the UFC. That's why he's a champion.

But in the other side, you have a skinny Mexican kid who support damage, and you need to make another game plan. The thing is, I mean, you can do it, you know. That's my question with Figueiredo. He has the fight IQ necessary to change his game plan and make something really, really different in this next fight. I don't know. For me in my personal situation, I'm prepared for everything.

KEVIN IOLE: Do you feel like, financially, like, this is going to change your life? Because if you win the title, you're a UFC Champion. And, you know, the champions obviously get paid more than anybody else. And you're also on a card where you're spotted really well. You got Nate Dias before you, and you've got Israel Adesanya after you, two of the biggest stars in the UFC. And you feel--

BRANDON MORENO: I'm in the middle.

KEVIN IOLE: You're right. Do you think that'll put a spotlight on you and that people who maybe tune in to see Nate Dias or tune in to see out Adesanya will see you, too, and become fans of yours, and that'll pay off down the road?

BRANDON MORENO: Kevin, my fight will be the fight of the night. I promise you. I promise, you know. Obviously, I have too much respect for, you know, for Nate Dias, for Leon Edwards, for Marvin Detori, for Israel. But, I mean, you saw the last fight, you know. This rematch has the potential to be the fight of the night, easy, easy. So I don't know. I'm in the correct spot right now, and I just need to take advantage of that.

KEVIN IOLE: Now, you know, I don't want to say anything to crazy, because you're in Las Vegas, and I'm in Las Vegas. And I know you could easily find me. But if it's only fight of the night, it's a disappointment, because last year, we were fight of the years. So we don't want to get-- it's like a fight of the night would be a drop down. Right? Brandon, I know you're--

BRANDON MORENO: No. I know.

KEVIN IOLE: I want to let you roll, brother. But thank you so much. And you know what? Great job. You did a tremendous job here today. I appreciate you, and good luck on Saturday against Davison Figueiredo on the title fight.

BRANDON MORENO: Kevin, thank you so much. Have a good day, and see you later.

KEVIN IOLE: Be well, my friend.