# Brandon Moreno

Brandon Moreno Carrillo (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former two-time UFC Flyweight Champion and the first Mexican to win a UFC championship. A professional since 2011, Moreno also competed for the Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he was the Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. As of February 27, 2024, he is #2 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Background

Moreno described himself as a boxing fan growing up but was not aware of other combat sports. He later became interested in capoeira, but was unable to find a school in his home city. While searching, he found an MMA gym and began training in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu.

### Early career

Moreno made his professional MMA debut in his native Mexico in April 2011. Over the next two years, he amassed a record of 6 wins and 3 losses.
In 2014, Moreno would debut for the World Fighting Federation promotion. He would go 5–0 in the promotion and would eventually win the Flyweight championship, which led to him being cast in the Flyweight tournament on the 25th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

### The Ultimate Fighter

In July 2016, it was revealed that Moreno was a participant on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. Moreno was selected as a member of Team Benavidez. He faced Alexandre Pantoja in the opening stage and lost the fight via submission.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

In a rare move, Moreno debuted in the UFC while his season of The Ultimate Fighter was still airing. He faced Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson on October 1, 2016. Moreno won the fight via submission in the first round. The win also earned Moreno his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
In his second fight for the promotion, Moreno returned to face Ryan Benoit on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale. He won the fight via split decision. 18 out of 18 media outlets scored the bout for Moreno.
Moreno next faced Dustin Ortiz on April 22, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 108. He won the fight by submission in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.
Moreno faced Sergio Pettis on August 5, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 114. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Moreno subsequently tested positive for clenbuterol from an in-competition urine sample collected on August 6, 2017, a day after his fight with Pettis. USADA has determined that the presence of clenbuterol in Moreno's system likely resulted from clenbuterol-contaminated meat that Moreno had consumed in Mexico, and so Moreno was not punished by USADA.
Moreno was expected to face Ray Borg on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223. However, the bout was canceled after Borg was injured by glass from a bus window that was smashed by Conor McGregor. The pairing was left intact and quickly rescheduled and was expected to take place on May 19, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 129. However, Borg withdrew from the bout to take care of his child from brain surgery, and was replaced by Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno lost the fight by unanimous decision. In an interview in 2019, Moreno revealed that he had been cut from the UFC in late 2018.

### Legacy Fighting Alliance

Moreno signed a multi-fight contract with the Legacy Fighting Alliance and made his promotional debut against the prevailing Flyweight Champion Maikel Perez at LFA 69 on June 7, 2019. Moreno won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round.

### Return to UFC

Moreno returned to the UFC in a bout against promotional newcomer Askar Askarov on September 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 159. The back-and-forth bout ended in a split draw. 12 out of 13 media outlets scored the bout for Moreno.
Moreno faced Kai Kara-France on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Moreno faced Jussier Formiga on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
As the first bout of his new contract, Moreno was expected to face Alex Perez on November 21, 2020, at UFC 255. However, on October 2, it was announced that Cody Garbrandt, who was scheduled to fight Deiveson Figueiredo for the UFC Flyweight Championship at the event, pulled out due to a torn bicep and was replaced by Perez. Moreno instead faced Brandon Royval. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.

#### UFC Flyweight Championship

Just three weeks removed from his last fight, Moreno faced Deiveson Figueiredo for the UFC Flyweight Championship on December 12, 2020, at UFC 256. After five rounds of frenetic back-and-forth fighting in which Figueiredo was deducted 1 point in the third round due to a groin strike, the bout was declared a majority draw. 13 out of 27 media outlets scored the bout for Figueiredo while 14 out of the 27 outlets scored the bout as a draw. This fight earned both athletes the Fight of the Night award.
Moreno rematched Figueiredo for the UFC Flyweight Championship on June 12, 2021, co-headlining UFC 263. Moreno dominated the striking and grappling exchanges and submitted Figueiredo with a rear naked choke in the third round, becoming the first Mexican UFC champion in the process. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
The trilogy rematch with Figueiredo for the UFC Flyweight Championship was scheduled to take place on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269 initially, but was moved to UFC 270 as the co-main event. He lost the fight and the title via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
Moreno next faced Kai Kara-France in a rematch for the interim UFC Flyweight Championship on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. The win also earned Moreno his third Fight of the Night award. Moreno received Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" awards paid in bitcoin of US$20,000 for second place.
A fourth bout between Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo for the undisputed UFC Flyweight Championship took place on January 21, 2023, at UFC 283, marking the first time in UFC history that two fighters fought each other for a fourth time. Moreno won the bout and undisputed title via technical knockout just before the fourth round after the ringside doctor stopped the fight due to Figueiredo's eye swelling shut.
Moreno faced Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch on July 8, 2023, at UFC 290. Moreno came out on the losing end via split decision, losing the title. 25 out of 30 media outlets scored the bout for Pantoja. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

#### Post championship

Moreno was expected to face Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 237 on February 24, 2024. However, Albazi withdrew due to a neck injury and was replaced by former title challenger Brandon Royval. In a competitive bout, Moreno lost by split decision. 13 out of 18 media outlets scored the bout for Royval.
It was reported that the bout between Moreno and Amir Albazi was re-scheduled to take place on November 9, 2024 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 247. However, the bout was moved to November 2, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 246. Moreno won the fight by unanimous decision.
Moreno is scheduled to face Steve Erceg in the main event on April 5, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 64 in Mexico City.

## Submission grappling career

Moreno competed at the first Combat Jiu-Jitsu Fight Night on February 22, 2019 in the bantamweight tournament. In the opening round, Moreno submitted Ryan Carroll via D'arce choke, then defeated Beau Brooks by TKO via strikes in the semi-finals. In the finals, Moreno faced Richard Alarcon. The bout went into overtime, where Alarcon defeated Moreno via fastest escape time.

## Personal life

Moreno is a big fan of Funko Pop and is a dedicated Lego collector. He and his wife have three daughters.
Moreno hosts Entre Asaltos, a Spanish-language MMA podcast.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** UFC Flyweight Championship (Two times)
*** First Mexican champion in UFC history
** Interim UFC Flyweight Championship (One time)
*** Tied (Deiveson Figueiredo) for third most title fight wins in UFC Flyweight division history (3)
** Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 1 & 3, Kai Kara-France 2 and Alexandre Pantoja 2
*** Tied (Brandon Royval) for most Fight of the Night bonuses in UFC Flyweight division history
** Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Dustin Ortiz, Louis Smolka and Deiveson Figueiredo 2
*** Second most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Flyweight division history (7)
** Tied (Joseph Benavidez) for fourth most finishes in UFC Flyweight division history (6)
** Third most bouts in UFC Flyweight division history (17)
** Most total fight time in UFC Flyweight division history (4:43:28)
** Second longest average fight time in UFC Flyweight division history (16:40)
** Tied (Deiveson Figueiredo) for fourth most wins in UFC Flyweight division history (10)
** Most significant strikes landed in UFC Flyweight division history (1131)
*** Third most total strikes landed in UFC Flyweight division history (1439)
** Sixth most top position time in UFC Flyweight division history (43:39)
** Sixth most control time in UFC Flyweight division history (52:51)
** UFC Honors Awards
*** 2020: President's Choice Fight of the Year Nominee vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 1
*** 2021: Fan's Choice Submission of the Year Winner vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 2 & President's Choice Performance of the Year Nominee vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 2
*** 2023: President's Choice Fight of the Year Nominee vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2016: Ranked #5 Newcomer of the Year & Ranked #4 Upset of the Year vs. Louis Smolka
*** 2020: Ranked #7 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #2 Fight of the Year vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 1
*** 2021: Ranked #7 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #4 Submission of the Year vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 2
*** 2022: Ranked #6 Fight of the Year vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 3
*** 2023: Ranked #2 Fight of the Year vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2
* World Fighting Federation
** WFF Flyweight Champion (One time)
* Legacy Fighting Alliance
** LFA Flyweight Championship (One time)
* MMAjunkie.com
** 2020 December Fight of the Month vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
** 2021 June Submission of the Month vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
** 2022 January Fight of the Month vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
* World MMA Awards
** 2021 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year^
** 2021 Fight of the Year vs. Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256^
** 2021 Fighting Spirit of the Year for perseverance - from being cut, to fighting back and becoming the first Mexican UFC champion^
^ Voting period for 2021 awards ran through July 2020 to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Submission grappling

* EBI Combat Jiu-Jitsu
** Combat Jiu-Jitsu Fight Night 1 bantamweight tournament - 2nd place

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 32 matches | 22 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By submission | 11 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 8 |
| Draws | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 22–8–2 | Amir Albazi | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi | November 2, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 21–8–2 | Brandon Royval | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 | February 24, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Loss | 21–7–2 | Alexandre Pantoja | Decision (split) | UFC 290 | July 8, 2023 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost the UFC Flyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 21–6–2 | Deiveson Figueiredo | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC 283 | January 21, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Won and unified the UFC Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 20–6–2 | Kai Kara-France | TKO (body kick and punches) | UFC 277 | July 30, 2022 | 3 | 4:34 | Dallas, Texas, United States | Won the interim UFC Flyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 19–6–2 | Deiveson Figueiredo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 270 | January 22, 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | Lost the UFC Flyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 19–5–2 | Deiveson Figueiredo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 263 | June 12, 2021 | 3 | 2:26 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | Won the UFC Flyweight Championship. Performance of the Night. |
| Draw | 18–5–2 | Deiveson Figueiredo | Draw (majority) | UFC 256 | December 12, 2020 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Flyweight Championship. Figueiredo was deducted one point in round 3 due to a groin strike. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 18–5–1 | Brandon Royval | TKO (punches) | UFC 255 | November 21, 2020 | 1 | 4:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–5–1 | Jussier Formiga | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira | March 14, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Brasília, Brazil | |
| Win | 16–5–1 | Kai Kara-France | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 245 | December 14, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Draw | 15–5–1 | Askar Askarov | Draw (split) | UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens | September 21, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Win | 15–5 | Maikel Pérez | TKO (punches) | LFA 69 | June 7, 2019 | 4 | 1:54 | Cabazon, California, United States | Won the vacant LFA Flyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 14–5 | Alexandre Pantoja | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman | May 19, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Santiago, Chile | |
| Loss | 14–4 | Sergio Pettis | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno | August 5, 2017 | 5 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Win | 14–3 | Dustin Ortiz | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov | April 22, 2017 | 2 | 4:06 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–3 | Ryan Benoit | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale | December 3, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 | Louis Smolka | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | October 1, 2016 | 1 | 2:23 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 11–3 | Isaac Camarillo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Fighting Federation 27 | April 16, 2016 | 1 | 1:53 | Tucson, Arizona, United States | Defended the WFF Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–3 | Tyler Bialeck | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Fighting Federation 22 | July 25, 2015 | 1 | 3:09 | Tucson, Arizona, United States | Defended the WFF Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–3 | Matt Betzold | Decision (unanimous) | World Fighting Federation 18 | February 7, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Chandler, Arizona, United States | Defended the WFF Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 8–3 | C.J. Soliven | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Fighting Federation 16 | September 20, 2014 | 1 | 0:58 | Chandler, Arizona, United States | Flyweight debut. Won the vacant WFF Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–3 | Alex Contreras | Submission (triangle choke) | World Fighting Federation 14 | June 28, 2014 | 3 | 1:04 | Chandler, Arizona, United States | |
| Win | 6–3 | Paul Amaro | Submission (rear-naked choke) | MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 9 | July 26, 2013 | 2 | 3:01 | Mission Viejo, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–3 | Jason Carbajal | TKO (punches) | MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 8 | March 23, 2013 | 3 | 1:52 | Pomona, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–3 | Jesse Cruz | Decision (split) | Xplode Fight Series: Anarchy | September 22, 2012 | 3 | 3:00 | Valley Center, California, United States | |
| Loss | 3–3 | Brenson Hansen | Decision (unanimous) | CITC 11: Xtreme Couture vs. Southern California | July 28, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 3–2 | Jonathan Carter | Submission (armbar) | Xplode Fight Series: Hunted | May 19, 2012 | 1 | 1:15 | Valley Center, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Ron Scolesdang | Decision (unanimous) | MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 6 | March 3, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Riverside, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Luis Garcia | Submission (armbar) | UWC Mexico: New Blood 1 | January 29, 2012 | 1 | 2:21 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Marco Beristain | Decision (unanimous) | UWC Mexico 10: To the Edge | June 25, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| Win | 1–0 | Atiq Jihad | Submission (armbar) | UWC Mexico 9.5: Iguana | April 30, 2011 | 1 | 2:30 | Tijuana, Mexico | Bantamweight debut. |

### Mixed martial arts exhibition record

| Exhibition record breakdown | Exhibition record breakdown | |
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 0–1 | Alexandre Pantoja | Submission (rear-naked choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions | August 31, 2016 | 2 | 3:44 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | TUF 24 Round of 16 |
*Date given is the air date of the episode. The actual dates of the fight are not released by the UFC

## Pay-per-view bouts

| No | Event | Fight | Date | Venue | City | PPV buys |
| 1. | UFC 256 | Figueiredo vs. Moreno | December 12, 2020 | UFC Apex | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | Not Disclosed |