Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno captured the interim 125-pound title with a thrilling third-round knockout over top contender Kai Kara France as part of the UFC 277 pay-per-view (PPV) event last Sat. night (July 30) at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
As far as UFC color commentator Joe Rogan is concerned, that fight was for the “real” world title, based on Moreno’s previous performance against flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo along with the assumption “Deus da Guerra” is done in the 125-pound division.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to see Deiveson Figueiredo down at 125 again, and I think those two gentlemen, there’s a real good argument that Moreno won that last fight as well,” Rogan said during UFC 277. “So that is, in my opinion, that’s the world title fight right there.”
Not surprisingly, Rogan’s assumption did not sit well with the reigning champion, who continues to recover from a recent hand injury. The current timeline has the hard-hitting Brazilian making his Octagon return against Moreno at some point by the end of the year.
“I’m going to show it to him,” Figueiredo told reporters backstage at UFC 277. “Maybe there could be a friendly wager to make weight, and I’m going to show it to him. I’m basically going to tell him what’s up, and what’s really going to happen.”
Moreno (20-6-2) and Figueiredo (21-2-1) are currently tied at 1-1-1 across three fights. Their UFC 256 majority draw led to a submission win for the “Assassin Baby” at UFC 263, followed by a unanimous decision victory for “Deus da Guerra” at UFC 270 the following January.