‘I was this close to retiring’: Brandon Moreno explains how stress over huge responsibilities nearly ended his career

It’s hard to imagine Brandon Moreno was actually contemplating the end of his career less than two years ago but losing his UFC flyweight title and then dropping a second fight to Brandon Royval had him on the brink of retirement.

While the losses definitely stung, the now 31-year-old former UFC champion admits there was a lot more going on with his decision to take a break from the sport than just falling in back-to-back fights. Instead, Moreno points to the immense weight of expectations that got dropped on his shoulders when he became champion not to mention ascending to a position where he effectively became a national hero in his home country of Mexico.

“Sometimes it’s just crazy how life works,” Moreno told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC 323. “I was this close to retiring. I felt so stressful, I feel mentally and physically tired of all the responsibilities. The people sometimes don’t realize and all my respect to other fighters who can support all these things but I was the champion on a super important country like Mexico. It was a really huge responsibility.

“I was super stressed and tired and I just needed a little time off. Just a little bit, just a few months to spend time with my family, out of the gym to be with my daughters, to be with my wife, to spend time together and start to miss again those moments in the gym.”

Moreno effectively took a break from the sport, although his sabbatical didn’t actually last very long.

He only ended up sitting out for about eight months before booking his return to action where he scored a dominant decision win over Amir Albazi. But even that temporary hiatus from the sport made Moreno realized how much he loved it and wanted to come back to fight again.

“Those moments where I was on the grind with my training partners and I felt it,” Moreno said. “Then in that moment, that’s when I realized that’s the thing I really loved and I came back and the fight against Amir Albazi — masterpiece. The fight against Steve Erceg, I tried to be more strategic because Erceg is really good with counterpunching. So I tried to be more careful but it was a really good victory.”

Already a two-time flyweight champion, Moreno hopes to add a third reign to his resume after facing Tatsuro Taira on the main card at UFC 323 on Saturday. A win could vault him right back to the top of the division, especially considering his fight takes place just before Alexandre Pantoja puts the 125-pound title on the line against Joshua Van in the co-main event.

Considering Pantoja is the person who beat him for the title, Moreno won’t deny that it would mean more to get the belt back from him but truthfully he doesn’t care who walks out victorious in that fight.

“I would love to get that revenge against Pantoja for sure but the main goal is to get the title,” Moreno said. “That’s my only goal right now. Trying to watch the fight between them, between Pantoja and Van, it’s hard to be against Pantoja. For all the amazing victories he’s getting in the recent times. But Van right now has a super power and his super power is he’s young. He doesn’t care. He’s just fighting. He’s motivated and happy to fight. That is super dangerous for Pantoja so let’s see what happens at the end.

“When Van fought against Brandon Royval, I thought Brandon Royval would win but Van looked impressive. I think this fight, I’m going with Pantoja but be careful with that.”

The outside noise and the extra pressure that came along with being champion obviously got to Moreno during his previous reigns but that’s largely why he’s taken a new approach to his career.

As much as the title means to him, Moreno says he can’t get lost on that potential future fight when there’s an opponent who wants to take that away from him on Saturday. That’s why Moreno acknowledges the stakes in his fight against Taira but also why he’s not just crowning himself the new No. 1 contender ahead of time.

“The situation with the belt, it started to get more complicated after my loss to Royval,” Moreno explained. “So I tried to put a mindset where I just need to win. I just need to get fights, win those fights and just be always in front of the line for the title.

“One of the things I’m trying to change right now is being more consistent in my performances. Because I think that’s why I lost my title. My main focus is to get my title back and be consistent in my career. To get the opportunity to take advantage of all my experience, to support more of the responsibility. To accept the responsibility but all the pressure, all the things, how everything changed after the title, it was impressive.”

Considering everything he’s gone through including his near-retirement, Moreno promises he’s in a much better place now. That already showed in his past two wins in a row with hopes to add a third on Saturday.

If the title fight is next, Moreno would be very excited for that opportunity but is he better suited now to serve as champion than he was during his two previous stints holding the belt?

“Hopefully,” Moreno said with a laugh. “Let’s figure it out later. Because it’s always different. Even when you have the experience, even when you have an idea what’s coming in the future, something changes.

“I’m just trying to be positive. I’ll just be ready for whatever happens and get the victory first of all. Get that victory, beat Tatsuro Taira and then be there in the front row for the fight for the title.”