Brandon Moreno’s journey to UFC history was not easy. It was long. And there were rough patches along the way.
But Moreno was never alone.
Back in June at UFC 263, Moreno (19-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC) wrote his name in the MMA history book, becoming the first Mexico-born fighter to win a UFC championship belt. The 27-year-old did it by submitting Brazil’s Deiveson Figueiredo in the second-round of their flyweight title bout.
It was an incredible moment that caught the eye of an entire country, as prominent figures such as legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez and Mexico President Lopez Obrador praised Moreno’s momentous feat. But the glory and fame is a thing of the present. Entram Gym head coach Raul Arvizu still remembers the day a 13-year-old Moreno walked into his gym in Tijuana to join his kids program.
“Brandon entered the gym just like any other kid,” Arvizu told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “He was nothing special, nothing from another world.
“He was just a good and normal kid. He was very charismatic and very lighthearted. He never asked me for anything. He always showed up and trained, never missed a day.”
Arvizu, a former fighter, opened up Entram Gym in 2005 as he wanted to contribute to Mexico’s combat sports history and help grow the almost non-existent MMA scene in the country.
Arvizu admits he had a rough first year with the gym. He had to start from scratch, building amateur fighters in hopes they would turn professional. Moreno was one of his earliest projects.
“At that time, I didn’t have professional fighters, so we just did a lot of amateur fights,” Arvizu said. “Every two weeks, every month, I would send them to fight in kickboxing, jiu-jitsu tournaments, whatever we could get our hands on.
“I think Brandon probably had like 40 amateur fights between kickboxing, boxing, jiu-jitsu. Right now, I have all professionals, but there was a time there weren’t any events, so everything was amateur. Brandon loved competing. I think by the time he was 18 I already had some fighters in the UFC. I debuted him (professionally) at 17, and I had to ask permission from his parents and the commission so he could fight. And on top of that, he had a baby face.
“So anyways, we started fighting and competing (professionally). At first it was tough because there was no 125 pounds, and he was very small. He just wouldn’t grow. I think now that he’s 27 he’s finally grown. I would always say, ‘Wait until he grows.’ And he turned 22, 23, and he always had the same physique.”
Humble beginnings as a pro
Moreno didn’t have the greatest start to his professional career. He went 3-3 in his first six fights competing on the regional scene in Tijuana and California. Unfortunately for Moreno, he was forced to fight outside of his weight class for many years. It wasn’t until his 12th professional fight that he debuted at 125 pounds.
Arvizu admits he wasn’t perfect and made a lot of mistakes with his fighters early on, including Moreno. However, “The Assassin Baby” never stopped working, and eventually the hard work paid off.
“I think him and I have been in a learning journey together,” Arvizu said. “We didn’t know anything about dieting, cutting weight. Everything I’ve learned as coach, I’ve picked it up as I went.
“I was jiu-jitsu and judo black belt and did boxing and kickboxing for many years, so I had technical experience. But the experience of being a coach or being a manager or a leader, I just had to pick all that up through trial and error. So anyways, him and I made a bunch of mistakes, but he never stopped. I remember it even got to the point that whenever he would get a cold or sick, he would bring a blanket to the gym and stay in a corner. Not even sick he would miss a class, he just loved the gym.”
After the 3-3 start to his career, Moreno went on a three-fight winning streak, which earned him a spot in the UFC’s Latin American developmental program in late 2013.
Many of the fighters who participated in the program were placed on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.” Unfortunately for Moreno, he didn’t meet the age requirement. He was too young.
That felt like a missed opportunity. Moreno went back to the regional scene where he finally debuted at 125 pounds, fighting for the vacant World Fighting Federation flyweight title. Moreno won the belt by first-round rear-naked choke and went on to defend it three times before he got the call to compete in the American version of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
UFC comes knocking, nothing comes easy
Brandon Moreno’s 2017 loss to Sergio Pettis in Mexico City was a setback to his career trajectory. (Miguel Tovar, USA TODAY Sports)
Things didn’t go well for Moreno on the reality show, as he was eliminated in the first round of the ‘TUF 24’ tournament by Alexandre Pantoja. Arvizu knew it wasn’t the end of a UFC dream, and he made sure to voice it.
“At that time, I told Sean Shelby, ‘This guy is really good. He’s great, he’s great, just wait.’ And I bothered him so much that he got him in the UFC.”
Moreno stepped up to the plate as a short-notice replacement when he filled in for an injured Sergio Pettis to take on ranked contender Louis Smolka in October 2016 at UFC Fight Night 96.
“They put him up against a ranked opponent, No. 11 in the world I believe, and Brandon beat him,” Arvizu said. “Sean Shelby was happy; everyone was happy. I think that was one of the best nights of my life apart from wining the title.”
Now under UFC contract and with a win under his belt, Moreno went on to rack up two more victories, defeating solid foes in Ryan Benoit and Dustin Ortiz.
The UFC gave him a step up in competition and relevance, putting him to headline UFC Fight Night 114 against Pettis in Mexico City. Moreno lost the bout by decision and went on to drop another decision nine months later against Pantoja in May 2018.
As if things weren’t already looking bleak for Moreno, they got dark they got dark when he was cut from the UFC as part of the promotion’s infamous flyweight purge.
Moreno stayed busy and signed with LFA where he won their flyweight title in June 2019, defeating Cuban Olympic wrestler Maikel Perez.
It didn’t take long for the flyweight division to get settled back in the UFC. Then-champion Henry Cejudo dethroned longtime titleholder Demetrious Johnson and defended the belt, and in time the UFC brought back many of the 125-pound fighters it released, including Moreno.
That year Moreno spent outside the UFC was pivotal to his career. He turned from a solid fighter into legit, championship material, and he made sure to show proof in is return to the octagon.
“That year he really took advantage of it and got with a new boxing coach, coach Cortez, and that’s the new version of Brandon,” Arvizu said. “What people don’t understand of Brandon is that he has great wrestling, he’s a black belt in jiu-itsu, he has really good boxing, he kicks well, and he has a good mentality. He’s a very complete fighter.
“So it’s been a mutual journey. He’s been with me since he was 13, and it’s been a gradual process. I have several fighters that started from zero and already stopped fighting. Brandon is the first fighter that starts from zero and becomes a UFC champion. So for me, as a trainer, it gives me a a lot of confidence because I’ve seen the process, and I see what’s works and what doesn’t.”
‘He positioned himself to become a star’
Brandon Moreno with his team and family at UFC 263. (Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)
Moreno remains unbeaten since re-signing with the UFC in late 2019, compiling three wins and a draw. His streak was enough to get a chance to fight for the title against Figueiredo in the main event of UFC 256 last December. The two fought to a draw in arguably the greatest fight in UFC flyweight history.
The five-round war earned respect from the UFC brass, and Moreno was promised an immediate rematch against the Brazilian. And that’s how Moreno was set up to make history at UFC 263.
“Crazy, right?” Moreno told reporters recently. “Too much lights and cameras. It’s nice, man. It’s a really good life right now. Obviously it’s a huge responsibility for me, because everything I say, I’m trying to do something for me, for my family, the people around me, for the sport in my country. But, hey, I enjoy every single moment of this life.”
There’s no denying it’s been a long journey to the title and this newfound fame. Coach Arvizu believes big things are in store for his pupil, and Moreno is on the verge of being one of the biggest stars in the UFC.
“This is a key point of his career, and a lot will depend on him,” Arvizu said. “Tough fights are coming Brandon’s way. They’ve already mentioned a name or two. Now he needs to learn how to deal with fame and all the responsibilities that are going to come his way. Something that I’ve always respected about him is that he always evolves. To be honest, sometimes I don’t even know how he does it. And he needs to keep evolving because tough fights are coming, and opponents are going to be studying him a lot.
“I think if he wins one or two more fights, we have a superstar. Something I didn’t expect from this fight (against Figueiredo) was that he not only just won, but I think he positioned himself to become a star. Many Latin American media and Mexican media didn’t believe in him, and now that he won they jumped on the bandwagon. I think everything came together. The presser, ‘Embedded,’ his dominant win, his post-fight speech – he shined bright.
“Anything can happen, but I think tough fights are coming and superfights, too. I think the sky is the limit winning two or three fights, and we have a superstar.”
From kids classes in Tijuana to UFC champ, Brandon Moreno’s coach recounts the long journey