ANAHEIM, Calif. – UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno knows his upcoming fight against Deiveson Figueiredo is significant in the grand scheme of his MMA career.
Moreno (19-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC) and Figueiredo (20-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) are set to do something special Saturday at UFC 270 when they clash in their third consecutive flyweight title fight in the span of a 406 days. Never in the history of the UFC have two opponents fought each other three straight times.
The uniqueness of the scenario is not lost on Moreno. They fought to a draw in the first bout at UFC 256 in December 2020, then Moreno won the rematch by submission at UFC 263 last June. He wants to put Figueiredo in his past with this fight, and that means getting his hand raised by any means necessary.
“This moment definitely is special,” Moreno told MMA Junkie and other reporters during Wednesday’s UFC 270 media day. “This trilogy is helping so much with my legacy. This is the first time in the history of the UFC – we’ve seen other trilogies before – but not in a row. One, two and three in the same time. Maybe the people can think different, but I feel a lot of respect for Figueiredo what we are doing together. I want to win, definitely, and don’t feel the respect for a lot of guys on his team, but for him I feel so much respect. I just want to fight this Saturday, keep the fight with me and be ready for the next one. But definitely this part of my life, this trilogy, will be something nice in my legacy.”
The history of UFC trilogy fights favors Moreno entering UFC 270, which takes place at Honda Center and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. Typically the fighter who wins the second meeting has great success in the third, and Moreno hopes that pattern continues to play out.
Moreno knows he has to take control of the situation in order to make that happen, though. Figueiredo can’t afford to suffer another loss and go down 0-2-1 in the series, so Moreno expects a fierce strategy from his opponent.
“I feel like the biggest ability of Figueiredo is he’s big, he punches hard, and he’s very intimidating,” Moreno said. “He tries to intimidate all his opponents in the octagon. So I’m expecting the same wild fighter, but a little more smart at the same time.”
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