The two-time former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (above, left) is stepping away from the sport, for the time being at least.
The 30-year-old Mexican fighter has been one of the primary players in the UFC’s 125-pound fold, competing in six successive championship bouts between 2020 and July of last year — including a four-fight series against rival Deiveson Figueiredo in which he came out on top with two wins and a draw against a sole defeat.
More recently though, Moreno has lost two straight in the Octagon — both split decisions against current champion Alexandre Pantoja and last month opposite Brandon Royval, who scored a measure of revenge for a prior defeat to Moreno in November 2020.
And while he says that he will one day pursue the UFC’s flyweight title once more, for now it’s time to take a break.
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“I just think I’ve reached a limit in my mind, and I’m tired,” Moreno said in Spanish in a video posted to social media, as translated by MMA Junkie.
“It’s not goodbye or anything like that, it’s just wait for me, be patient with me, let my body, but more than anything my mind, my head, compose itself and recover — recover and we’re going to get back to doing things right,” Moreno explained. “The last time that happened, I came back, and I became a world champion. I’d like to think I can do the same, and when I return, I’m going to go on a tear. I still think I’m an incredible fighter, and I have all the qualities and abilities to be a champion again.”
He added: “So I leave with that and the support. Everyone that supports me is fully on board, and there’s no way I can ever repay that. At this point, all I promise is that I’ll continue fighting, moving forward, and I will find the right path to move forward.
“I’m going to do everything to pick myself up again. I want to do it, I know I can do it, and I’m going to do it. I’m going to be champion. I just need to rest my body and mind.”
