The road back to a title fight
Brandon Moreno, a fighter identified with Tijuana, competed on Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter before the UFC released him near the end of 2018. In his first LFA appearance the following June, he won that promotion’s flyweight title. [BM1]
Moreno’s first bout after returning to the UFC ended in a split draw with Askar Askarov. He then earned a unanimous-decision victory over Kai Kara-France in December 2019 and defeated Jussier Formiga in Brasilia on March 14, 2020. A first-round stoppage of Brandon Royval at UFC 255 followed. [BM1]
At UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona, on June 12, 2021, Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo to win the UFC flyweight championship. He secured the victory with a rear-naked choke 2 minutes, 26 seconds into the third round. [BM1] [BM2]