Brandon Moreno

He would go 5–0 in the promotion and would eventually win the Flyweight championship, which led to him being cast in the Flyweight tournament on the 25th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Brandon Moreno Carrillo (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist.

He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former two-time UFC Flyweight Champion.

A professional since 2011, Moreno also competed for the Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he was the Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion.

As of February 27, 2024, he is #2 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Moreno described himself as a boxing fan growing up but was not aware of other combat sports.

He later became interested in capoeira, but was unable to find a school in his home city.

While searching, he found an MMA gym and began training in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu.

Moreno made his professional MMA debut in his native Mexico in April 2011.

Over the next two years, he amassed a record of 6 wins and 3 losses.

In 2014, Moreno would debut for the World Fighting Federation promotion.

In July 2016, it was revealed that Moreno was a participant on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions.

Moreno was selected as a member of Team Benavidez.

He faced Alexandre Pantoja in the opening stage and lost the fight via submission.

In a rare move, Moreno debuted in the UFC while his season of The Ultimate Fighter was still airing.

He faced Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson on October 1, 2016.

Moreno won the fight via submission in the first round.

The win also earned Moreno his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

In his second fight for the promotion, Moreno returned to face Ryan Benoit on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale.

He won the fight via split decision.

Moreno next faced Dustin Ortiz on April 22, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 108.

He won the fight by submission in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

Moreno faced Sergio Pettis on August 5, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 114.

He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Moreno subsequently tested positive for clenbuterol from an in-competition urine sample collected on August 6, 2017, a day after his fight with Pettis.

USADA has determined that the presence of clenbuterol in Moreno's system likely resulted from clenbuterol-contaminated meat that Moreno had consumed in Mexico, and so Moreno was not punished by USADA.

Moreno was expected to face Ray Borg on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223.

However, the bout was canceled after Borg was injured by glass from a bus window that was smashed by Conor McGregor.

The pairing was left intact and quickly rescheduled and was expected to take place on May 19, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 129.

However, Borg withdrew from the bout to take care of his child from brain surgery, and was replaced by Alexandre Pantoja.

Moreno lost the fight by unanimous decision.

In an interview in 2019, Moreno revealed that he had been cut from the UFC in late 2018.

Moreno signed a multi-fight contract with the Legacy Fighting Alliance and made his promotional debut against the prevailing Flyweight Champion Maikel Perez at LFA 69 on June 7, 2019.

Moreno won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round.

Moreno returned to the UFC in a bout against promotional newcomer Askar Askarov on September 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 159.

The back-and-forth bout ended in a split draw.

Moreno faced Kai Kara-France on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Moreno faced Jussier Formiga on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.