Brandon Moreno not intimidated by Deiveson Figueiredo's power: 'I know what he's got'

Brandon Moreno entered his first UFC championship bout a confident man, but he’s got even more confidence now that he’ll make a second attempt to claim gold.

Moreno will challenge champion Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) this summer at UFC 263 in a rematch that stems from their first meeting at UFC 256 this past December. Figueiredo and Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) had a “Fight of the Year” candidate that ended in a majority draw. After the fight, UFC president Dana White assured fans they would see a rematch, and this past week it was given a June 12 date.

Figueiredo has built a reputation for being a dangerous fighter with seven stoppages in nine UFC wins. Moreno was confident Figueiredo wasn’t going to stop him with with ease in their first bout, but having taken Figueiredo’s best shots over the course of 25 minutes, the Mexican fighter is even more certain he will thrive in the rematch.

“This is how I see it: Yes, the guy is dangerous and hits hard and he’s strong. But I can’t respect him and have that whole aura of the bully Deiveson Figueiredo – watch out, he might run through me – and all that,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish.

“I can respect him and lose, or I can just not respect him and do my game. The possibility of losing is always going to be there, always. But I know if I respect him, I’m not going to develop my game how I’m supposed to. However, if I don’t show him any respect and I’m able to focus on my game, do me, I can do something spectacular like I did last fight.

“So I know he’s dangerous, I know he hits hard, but I’m not going to let that intimidate me – and much less now that I know what he’s got. I’m more confident. I know I can exchange with him. Yes, he can change the fight with a single hit, but I have the natural ability to absorb punishment and move forward.”

Moreno knows there’s plenty to work on from now until June 12, but he doesn’t plan on changing his strategy too much from the first fight against Figueiredo.

“I think there were good things and bad things,” Moreno said. “It was a very close fight. I already saw it like four or five times.

“There are things that I won’t change because I did them beyond well and I know that they work. There are some things that maybe I’ve could’ve made adjustments so that it could’ve given me another combination in the fight. Based on that, maybe we’re looking to add a new weapon. If you lose, the bad things are noticeable and you have a bigger pool to improve from and learn. But since it was a tie and it was just so close, I just try to do good work and polish and sharpen everything that was done well. That’s it.”