Recently it was confirmed that Cody Garbrandt will be the first man to challenge new flyweight champ, Deiveson Figueiredo. While Brandon Moreno gets that the UFC’s going this route since Garbrandt can move views, the flyweight contender claims “No Love” knows he doesn’t deserve the fight.

Moreno says Garbrandt knows he shouldn’t be fighting for the flyweight crown

At UFC 250 this past June, Garbrandt ended a three-fight losing skid by knocking out Raphael Assuncao. Not long after, Garbrandt said he wanted to make the drop to 125 pounds to fight the new champ, Figueiredo.

Garbrandt got his wish, and he’s scheduled to fight the rising star on November 21st.

Well, one man who has been knocking on the flyweight title shot door is Moreno. The Mexican fighter has gone undefeated in four straight bouts, and he’s ranked #2 in the division.

Well, recently Moreno appeared on Hablemos MMA, and the 26-year-old didn’t hold back while piling on Garbrandt’s title shot (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I know that he needs to talk and do his thing in the media to show his confidence, but I know in his mind he knows he doesn’t deserve any of this,” Moreno said. “He was knocked out horribly, and it wasn’t any knockout or a TKO – it was an effective knockout.

Like, the guy fell unconscious to the ground horribly, and the medics and his cornermen had to wake up that f*cker because he was dead.

He was unconscious bad. And that was three times in a row – three times in a row. His brain can’t be too healthy.

“Then he goes against Rapahel Assuncao. And I respect Assuncao a lot, but he’s not the same fighter that beat T.J. Dillashaw.

Little by little, we’ve seen a decline in Raphael Assuncao’s career. So, good that he won that fight and broke that losing streak, but he wasn’t in any position to deserve anything at bantamweight, flyweight or anywhere.

But we go back to the same thing: The UFC wants to sell pay-per-views, and who was has a bigger name? Cody Garbrandt.”

Moreno didn’t stop there, however, as he also said this.

“It was a fact that I deserved it, and it was a fact that Cody Garbrandt didn’t deserve it,” Moreno said. “I don’t take it personal on any level and I understand that I don’t move the needle like Garbrandt.

Garbrandt is not a superstar, but I know he does have more followers and he’s a former champion at bantamweight, so I didn’t take it personal.

“At the moment, it did hurt me, of course. But each day that scenario was getting stronger, so it made it easier to cope with because it was likely that they were going to take the fight away from me. And that’s OK.

I always try to stay focused, stay centered, and have the most positive outlook because if I focus on negative thoughts and be mad, I don’t think I’m going to achieve anything.”

You can understand Moreno’s frustration?

Even if you’re excited to see Figueiredo and Gabrandt fight, you can understand Moreno’s frustration. If you look at both fighters more recent stretches, there’s no doubt Moreno has been the more successful one.

Not only that, but he’s also coming off a win over Jussier “Formiga”, who beat the new flyweight champ in 2019. 

As MMA history tells us, however, a fighter’s platform and following often play a deciding factor in determining who will receive a title shot.

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