Brandon Moreno believes he should be the one fighting for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 255.
Originally, Deiveson Figueiredo was supposed to defend his belt against Cody Garbrandt. However, the former bantamweight champion had to pull out with an injury and it was Alex Perez who stepped in to fight for the belt.
For Moreno, he believes he was the more deserving candidate than Perez. He also admits he was disappointed he will have to fight one more time before getting a title shot.
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“Man, I was very disappointed because I think I deserve the title fight even more than Cody Garbrandt,” Moreno said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I understand the situation with the promotion, they need to sell pay-per-views and I know Garbrandt has a name and is a former champion, I understand that. But, I can’t understand why Alex Perez got it ahead of me. Even my name, I think I have more fans.”
Entering UFC 255, many have circled Moreno vs. Royval as a Fight of the Night candidate. The Mexican agrees with that as he is expecting a war but believes he is much better everywhere than Royval.
“A war. He is very brave, he sometimes tries to go forward and take some punches. He has a good chin and takes damage very well and I am the same,” Moreno said. “I can take damage, too, but I need to stay focused on the fight. Just take all my experience in the Octagon and throw all the best punches in the fight.
“I am ready for everything in this fight. If you watch my fights before UFC, all my wins were by submission. My jiu-jitsu skills are amazing too,” he later added. “My progress with my striking the last two years is amazing, I’m better, I’m just better than Brandon Royal. You will see that on November 21.”
Not only is Brandon Moreno focused on Royval, but he also says he will make 125-pounds on the dot in case something happens to Figueiredo or Perez. If nothing happens and he has to fight Royval, the Mexican is confident he will get a finish win and prove to the UFC he should’ve been the one fighting for the belt.
“Of course, I need to be smart, I need to stay focused on the fight. I can’t make mistakes against Brandon Royval because he is always dangerous. I need to finish the fight and need to show something more,” Moreno said. “Just make a statement for the promotion, for Dana White, for Mick Maynard because they made a mistake giving the title shot to Alex Perez. So, I’m next and that is it.”
If he does finish Royval, Moreno believes he would be next for the title shot. But, with Garbrandt still planning on dropping down in weight, the Mexican is aware he may get passed over again, despite the UFC saying if he wins he is next.
“Oh man, that can happen. I talked to my manager and Mick Maynard said I’m next. But, the problem is they have said that before,” Moreno concluded.
Do you think Brandon Moreno will beat Brandon Royval at UFC 255?