Brandon Moreno thinks things got a bit more dangerous for him.
The flyweight contender fights Nov. 21 at UFC 255 in Las Vegas. Moreno (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) was scheduled to take on Alex Perez (24-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC), but a short-notice switch now has him facing rising contender Brandon Royval (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
After Cody Garbrandt’s withdrawal from a title bout against Deiveson Figueiredo, Perez was promoted to the main event title fight and Royval stepped in to fight Moreno.
The Mexican fighter sees Royval as a more dangerous matchup than the original booking.
“I think it’s a bit tougher,” Moreno said in Spanish on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “Royval is in a position where he’s in a win-win situation. If he loses with me, he’s going to be like, ‘OK, I lost against a top one or two.’ And if he wins, it’s like, ‘Wow. He took the challenge and he beat the toughest guy in the division.’ So he’s in a good position.
“I know that he’s excited. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and that’s very dangerous – very dangerous. But what he doesn’t know is that I don’t see rankings and I go there to beat the guy in front of me.”
Moreno already has done his homework on Royval and very much likes the matchup despite thinking Royval could be a more dangerous opponent for him.
“He’s a guy that likes to move forward,” Moreno said. “He’s valiant, he’s aggressive, and he doesn’t care about getting hit as long as he’s hitting – and that’s dangerous. I’ve actually seen some of his recent interviews saying that his style adapts well to mine, and I feel the exact same way. I think his style suits me perfectly and I have a ton more experience.
“He’s coming off impressive showings against Tim Elliot and Kai-Kara France. But having studied his fights, I know how to beat him. I have more experience and I have a bigger heart. At the end of the day, I’m Mexican and that’s what represents us. I think us Mexicans like to move forward and trade punches and we don’t care about anything – just getting the victory.”
Moreno, who’s unbeaten in his past four bouts, thought he would serve as a replacement for the title fight between Figueiredo and Garbrandt. He was surprised to find out Perez got the opportunity to fight the champion and not him.
Regardless, Moreno is focused on his craft and said he will continue to rack up victories until the opportunity to fight for the title comes his way.
“At the end of the day, I want to be the best,” Moreno said. “The belt itself, I don’t care about. That same belt you can buy at a UFC store and you can have it. So the belt, per se, doesn’t matter to me. What I do care about is being the best.
“If I beat the champion, I’m the best. I just want to fight for my family. I want to get money and improve the situation for all of us.”
