Brandon Moreno’s self-enforced hiatus from the sport of MMA, in the middle of his prime years, is a decision many wouldn’t have the luxury to do. Glad to have earned that freedom of choice during a successful second stint as a two-time UFC flyweight champion, the 30-year-old spoke about the renewed energy brewing within before his main event matchup vs. #2 contender Amir Albazi.
Moreno: Maybe weak but I’m human – break needed
Brandon Moreno [2] vs. Amir Albazi [3]
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BRANDON Moreno’s time away from the spotlight proved therapeutic and before his title eliminator against #3 ranked Amir Albazi this coming weekend, the former champion reflected on a pair of split decision defeats seven months apart against elite competition which made the decision to temporarily step away easier on him.
Seven consecutive championship or main event fights dating back to Dec. 2020, Moreno’s star has risen significantly in his home country. The weight of expectation has naturally increased in multiple ways, prompting the hiatus that ends here.
In his portion of yesterday’s media day, Moreno said: “I am the first Mexican world champion, the guy from a huge country with a lot of support on a person – that’s me – it’s not just the training camp, or the fight… it’s about the media, responsibilities, travels, media tours. That’s something huge.”
“I’ve been on the grind like two, three years in a row. Fighting in an amazing spot, being around the world doing a lot of work, lot of media days. I’m a human being, man and at some point, it exploded my mind. That’s why I decided to take a break.”
- Moreno on his workload, in more ways than one
Defeats by familiar foes in Alexandre Pantoja and a Brandon Royval rematch meant the Tijuana-born fan favourite, who turns 31 next month, had some serious questions to ask himself as many mused his extended time in the spotlight post-COVID had led to a technical decline with others wising up to his tendencies.
At the time, I wrote… Royval deserved to win, but that may have more to do with Moreno’s defensive deficiencies rather than him suddenly earning championship mettle overnight. In a division without a clear #1 contender, a Kai Kara-France rematch would be interesting – many felt he deserved the nod over Amir Albazi last June.
The competitive itch never really left and was heightened when he was offered a fight at UFC 306 in September, the promotion’s landmark celebration of Mexican Independence Day at the Sphere, but while the temptation was strong, his inner circle importantly reminded him that patience was key before returning.
“Three weeks after [the break], I started being like… ‘damn, I want to fight.’ My wife, family and coaches were like ‘hey, you have to take a break and take it serious… rest, be with your family, daughters, make more nice moments with them first.’ I had this fight with my mind to take this break serious.”
Said to have amazing energy again after two training camps without this feeling, he said he’s in a headspace as if he had just signed to the UFC and has fully healed some niggling injuries that were previously hindering him behind-the-scenes.
Albazi, who made his UFC debut in July 2020 on the Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez 2 undercard in Abu Dhabi, has only fought four times since – but stayed unbeaten, most recently with a disputed split decision win over Kara-France last June before undergoing neck surgery earlier this year.
“I feel very frustrated because even when I lost my last two fights, I feel in my prime… stronger, with better technique and more knowledge about the fight game.
Just the result isn’t what I’ve been having in my last couple of fights. Now my goal is to show that to the world, to show all my hard work at the gym.”
- Moreno on his SD5 defeats by Pantoja and Royval
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
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