As he begins his second reign as the UFC Flyweight Champion, Brandon Moreno is already listing out his next fights.
“The Assassin Baby” is once again the 125-pound champ after defeating longtime rival Deiveson Figueiredo in their tetralogy fight at UFC 283 via third round TKO. And while the Mexican relishes in his triumph, as well as recovers from the damage of this fight, Moreno already has his next three opponents sketched out, as he shared in the press conference after the event.
Pantoja, Nicolau, Kape: Brandon Moreno States His Next Opponents
The first in line seems to be top flyweight contender Alexandre Pantoja, a former rival of Moreno who served as the backup for Saturday’s title fight. Soon after Moreno’s victory, Pantoja approached him backstage, initiated in a friendly manner but didn’t remain so, as he immediately wanted to fix a title fight.
Alejandre Pantoja congratulates Brandon Moreno after becoming the undisputed champion. He weighed as an alternate for #UFC283 and seems to be the next in line@ESPNDeportes pic.twitter.com/GG5Pjr9lgC
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) January 22, 2023
“He was very friendly with me, to be honest, and everything to start,” said Moreno at the post-fight news conference. “He came with me and he said, ‘Hey man, today I feel so happy for you. Congrats for the belt’ or whatever. At that point, everything was fine. There, he started to ask me like, ‘Hey, when is our fight? In two months? In three months? Tell me right now.’”
“Like, I don’t know, to be honest,” Moreno went on, “Then he started to look a little bit aggressive, to be honest. My only point was, ‘Let me enjoy today, man. Just give me today. Just let me have this moment with my friends, with my training partners, with my wife, with my manager. Then, we can make another circus on social media with trash talk, if you want. But just give me this moment.’ That was my only point.”
While he believes Pantoja is his next opponent, Moreno also mentioned Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape as the next two in the line.
“I understand how the line is right now. I think for sure Pantoja should fight next for the title. (Matheus) Nicolau is doing an amazing job right now, too, (and) Manel Kape. I think those three guys are the next ones. At the end, I don’t do the decisions. I’m just ready to fight and I’ll be ready for the guy the UFC puts in front,” he added. [H/T MMA Junkie]
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