Following his victory at UFC 283, Brandon Moreno has written a triumphant epilogue in his three-year-long battle against Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno is now the undisputed flyweight champion.
Moreno’s coach Sayif Saud spoke in a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
He discussed the recent victory against Deiveson Figueiredo and the challenges they went through in preparation for the title match.
The Mexican had a significant knee injury and even suffered through a case of the flu during the training camp. However, he still managed to win and take home the title. The coach stated during the conversation:
“Brandon hurt his knee really badly and we kept that a secret, I mean nobody knew about it. And not only did he have the other things here to deal with, but physically, you know, he got really sick.”
This is particularly interesting because Moreno was previously coached by James Krause who was famously ousted from the UFC after an investigation into betting impropriety following shifty line movement during a bout that featured one of his trainees with a critical knee injury.
“Everybody got sick last month, you know. He got that flu…like, I mean for two weeks, he was so sick. I mean, he would do rounds, and he looked hacked up and blow his nose.”
He went on:
“He was struggling but he never showed any mental weakness or any mental fatigue. The guy is just a tank. And so we just powered through it all.”
Moreno disclosed the injuries he received during the match against Deiveson Figueiredo during UFC 283 in a video interview.
In the first round of the match, Brandon Moreno was heel-hooked by his rival. This ended up injuring his knee.
Following the bout, Moreno stated:
“Maybe in the first round, he got me with a heel hook, and that affected my knee a little bit – hurts right now actually. He got me, maybe, in a guillotine, but I never was close. That’s it. I feel very healthy.”