It doesn’t take too long of a glance at Brandon Moreno’s resume to realize he’s among the best flyweights in UFC history.
And if you ask the two-time former champion, who turns 32 in less than two weeks, that same resume should put him on the proverbial Mt. Rushmore of fighters at 125 pounds. Naturally, he found a spot for himself on there – humbly speaking. But also for ex-longtime champ Demetrious Johnson, current dominant titleholder Alexandre Pantoja, and his biggest rival, Deiveson Figueiredo, whom he fought four times and went 2-1-1 against.
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“The first one has to be Demetrious Johnson,” Moreno told MMA Junkie Radio. “‘Mighty Mouse’ did an amazing job getting the title and defending it so many times. The first spot is for Demetrious. I think the second one has to be Pantoja. He has a lot of defenses already. He’s making a really good legacy right now.
“I don’t want to be cocky, but maybe I’m in third place – I don’t know. I know Figueiredo won the title, as well. Those kind of conversations, I prefer people give their opinion. Whatever I think or Pantoja thinks or Demetrious thinks is fine, but at the end, the analysts and the people, the crowd and fans, have the most important opinion.”
Moreno has back-to-back decision wins over Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg. Those came after consecutive losses to Pantoja and Brandon Royval. The latter was a rematch of a 2020 fight that Moreno won by knockout.
He won the flyweight title against Figueiredo in 2021 after a draw with him six months prior. He lost it back in a trilogy rematch in 2022. After he won an interim flyweight belt, Moreno unified the titles with a TKO of Figueiredo in January 2023.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ Brandon Moreno reveals his Mt. Rushmore of flyweights
