Brandon Moreno took to social media almost a year ago and poured his heart out. He’d had enough.
He’d had enough of the same questions from the media. Enough of the soaring expectations. Enough of life in the fish bowl.
He said then he was stepping away from the sport he loved, the one that had made him rich and famous.
On Saturday, a year and four days later, in front of an arena-record crowd of 19,731 in Mexico City, Moreno couldn’t get enough. He couldn’t get enough of the crowd’s thunderous ovations. He couldn’t get enough of the adulation that he’d shed his blood to earn after a workmanlike unanimous decision over Steve Erceg.
Mostly, he couldn’t get enough of the competition.
Moreno won all but the second round on all three judges’ cards, outworking Erceg and showing slightly more proficiency in every area. After the bout, he made a plea to headline the UFC’s next show in Mexico.
During the broadcast Saturday, the UFC announced that UFC Noche 2 will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Sept. 13.
In the cage, Moreno sought out Hunter Campbell and lobbied to headline that show.
“I know I can move the needle on the pay-per-view,” Moreno said.
Moreno is a two-time UFC flyweight champion who has morphed into one of the promotion’s biggest stars, particularly with Hispanic fans. When he made the ring walk at UFC 270 in Anaheim, Calif., in January 2022, to defend the world title against Deiveson Figueiredo, he received an ear-splitting ovation.
It was more of the same on Saturday, as an already raucous crowd took it to the next level as Moreno skipped down the aisle to the cage, soaking in the love but clearly ready to handle business.
Unlike that night in 2022 when he lost his belt, Moreno was sharp, focused, and on point Saturday.
A year ago, there was legitimate doubt whether he’d be back. He announced on Instagram he was taking a break from fighting, and while he said he’d be back, this looked like one of those situations where he was burned out and may be out for a significant period.
“I think with all the technical aspect things aside, I think I’m just tired," Moreno wrote on Instagram last year. "I’m tired of the media, the same questions, the vibe, the constant pressure. I don’t even think it’s a single moment anymore. I think it’s everything I’ve piled on my shoulders in the last few years. I’ve reached a point where my mind is stressed, and I just want to rest a bit. I’m not saying I’m 100 percent stepping away from MMA, but I do want to take a break to rest, be with my family and just be a normal person, be with my daughters, and just do new things. There are many things I haven’t done because I’m 100 percent focused on my training. I just want to rest a bit.”
His rest, if you could call it that, lasted less than eight months. In November, he returned to headline a card in Edmonton against Amir Albazi.
And it was immediately clear that night that his mental health break had been the right one. He was brilliant in a one-sided win over Albazzi, immediately thrusting himself back into the title picture.
The one downside to a UFC career that will almost certainly landed him in the Hall of Fame is a lack of consistency. Since joining the promotion in 2016, he’s never won more than three in a row nor lost more than two in a row.
That’s going to happen when you’re face the elite of the elite every time out.
Of his 18 bouts in the UFC, a third of them have been for the title.
Given his history, it seemed as if he were walking into a bit of a trap on Saturday.
Yes, he’d be fighting in his native Mexico, but in Erceg, he was facing the eighth-ranked contender who wasn’t considered on the same level as previous opponents such as Alexandre Pantoja, Brandon Royval, Figueiredo and Kai Kara-France.
It was mostly a kickboxing bout, and Moreno was the quicker fighter, more elusive, more accurate striker.
And without a doubt, he thrust himself into the title mix again.
The time off clearly had its intended effect.
And Moreno once again marches inexorably toward the top, better, it appears, than he’s ever been.