In the end, Brandon Moreno prevailed over Deiveson Figueiredo and reclaimed his flyweight title, but after the fight, he got into a confrontation with Alexandre Pantoja backstage.
A strong rivalry between Moreno and Deiveson dates back to 2020 when their first fight ended in a draw and their second bout ended in a victory for Moreno. In their trilogy bout, Deiveson defeated Moreno and regained his title shortly thereafter. The fourth fight between these two flyweights was expected to resolve their feud once and for all.
Super Brandon Moreno, chiquito pero gigante… DALE CAMPEÓN! 🙌🏻🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/cYFwa8FyE6
— Gaston “Tonga” Reyno (@gastonreyno) January 22, 2023
On January 21, The Assassin Baby traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Jeunesse Arena with the intention of defeating Deiveson in front of the Brazilian crowd, a daunting task given that Deiveson is a Brazilian. The Mexican received some boos from the Brazilian audience after landing a left hook that ultimately led to his victory in UFC283.
The 29-year-old mixed martial arts fighter offered an explanation for the jeers he received by saying, “Maybe that’s why the people are a little bit confused because I pushed his face with my hand. My hand was like in this position [open palm] not [poking position]. Maybe that’s why the people is a little bit mad,”
“I wasn’t expecting that. I think at the end people will be very happy with my performance but I don’t know. I was just trying to enjoy the moment. It was crazy how all the bodyguards was around me and like pushing me, I throw the belt to the floor… It was funny!” Moreno added.
Moreno’s record in the UFC now sits at 9-3-2, while Figueiredo’s record is at 10-3-1 following the conclusion of this fight. However, as soon as the battle ended, Moreno got into a fight with native UFC fighter Alexandre Pantoja. Pantoja, ranked number four, made an offer to fight Moreno, which may or may not have been accepted.
Pantoja came to congratulate Moreno saying, ‘hey man, today I feel so happy for you, congrats on the belt.’ but soon the conversation took a different path as The Brazilian started talking about business which annoyed The Mexican. Just after winning a bout, Brandon wanted to enjoy the moment with his friends, training partners, wife, and manager but The Brazilian ruined it.
”Then he started to ask me ‘when is our fight? In two months? Three months? Tell me right now!’ Like, I don’t know to be honest. Then he started to look a little bit aggressive, to be honest, but my only point was to let me enjoy it today. Give me today. We can make [another fight] with the social media and the trash talk, if you want but give me this moment. That was my only point,” said Moreno after the fight.
Moreno and Pantoja first fought inside the octagon in 2018, when Moreno lost. Do you think they’ll face off again?
