Brandon Moreno’s preparation for his upcoming championship bout didn’t come under ideal circumstances.
The UFC interim flyweight champion was forced to split and cut all communication with his head coach James Krause just a little over a month away from his fourth title fight with rival Deiveson Figueiredo at Saturday’s UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This drastic change came after the UFC issued a ban that prohibited fighters trained by Krause from competing in the octagon, as the Glory MMA & Fitness coach is currently being investigated for potential insider betting. This was a big shock for Moreno (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-2 UFC).
“When I get the news about James, I was already in Kansas City training,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I was training with him, and we were doing everything well. Something that I’ve mentioned, is that out of all the bad, when the news came out we already had a game plan made. So in a way, I wasn’t affected in that sense. So anyway, I was in Kansas (City) and the first red flag was when he couldn’t be in Miles Johns’ corner when he fought Vince Morales. Then from there, James calls me one day and tell me everything that’s going on. …
“At first, it was hard because you start thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m coming from a recent switch in teams, and now I have to look for a new team or a new trainer.’ That’s a lot of changes in such a short span. But anyway, I always try to turn the page as quickly as possible and look for what’s needed to solve the situation.”
Moreno originally planned to keep things the same for his preparation for Figueiredo (21-2-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC), but with Krause out of the picture. He still was working with his boxing and grappling coaches in Las Vegas, along with his long-time training partners Marcelo Rojo and Masio Fullen.
However, after a chat with his manager, Moreno made a late addition to the team – one of the best coaches today.
“Once we knew that he couldn’t be with me, at that moment, we already had the game plan, so we were already working on it,” Moreno explained. “We knew what he had to do, the mistakes that we needed to address in the fight, and all those things. I was ready to just go with my other coaches and take on the challenge just us and keep a cool head.
“Then I had a conversation with Jason (House), my manager, and like you know, he’s a part of my career not only from a professional sense, but also a much closer manner. He said, ‘I know that you’re ready. I’ve seen you train, and you’re ready for whatever comes. But just in case something bad happens during the fight, a bad round or something – you never know. If something unexpected were to happen, it’s good to have someone with experience, someone that can give you good instructions with a cool head, someone that can keep your head in the fight.’
“So I said, ‘Ok, we’ll see,’ and that’s when Sayif Saud from Fortis MMA in Dallas spoke to Jason and said he wanted to help. So he came one day to Vegas, we worked, we had a few sessions and we began talking. He explained what he had in mind for the fight and, funny enough, his game plan was very similar to the one we had in place. He basically was thinking the same thing, so accepted him into the team and things worked out well.
“We closed out in an incredible way. We did a short camp, but it gave good results. I’m happy with the final result and that gave me a lot of confidence.”
“The Assassin Baby” admits Krause was missed, but he also feels training camp was up to par. It’s unknown what the result of the betting investigation will be and what that may mean for the Krause-Moreno partnership moving forward.
For now, Moreno is in full support of Krause and whatever comes won’t affect his personal relationship with him.
“I esteem James a lot and appreciate him,” Moreno said. “When I needed help, he was there 100 percent with me and opened the doors to his house. I know his family and he always treated me well. This situation won’t change that.
“… At the end of the day, if he made a mistake, he’s going to pay for it. But if nothing happened, I would like for the law to clear his name 100 percent. Time will tell, we’ll see what happens in the future.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
