Brandon Moreno - A Game of Chutes and Ladders
- Christopher Perez
- Mar 30
- 15 min read
Chutes and Ladders is an American childrens board game adopted from the Indian game Snakes and Ladders , where players race to the finish line, jumping ahead of others using ladders, and falling behind using chutes. The game represents the setbacks and achievements of life and everyone's pursuit of their dreams.
Dana White, The President of the UFC, has thrusted the sport of Mixed Martial Arts onto the global stage, virtually selling out every show they put on. This savvy business man has built up a billion dollar industry on the back of creating “Holy Shit” moments. His success cant be without hard work, that’s a given, but Dana White knows the value of super stars in the sport. They are what keep people coming back. Most notably, the likes of Conor McGregor took the UFC to an entirely different level with his massive popularity. Dana has created the infrastructure for these fighters to shine. The business is cutthroat. Many fighters rise and fall, very few rise again. As this business scales, Dana White has always had eyes on new markets. The UFC holds the most attention in North America, some European countries, and Southeastern Asia. In other instances, with countries like Brazil, the fighters are treated with major respect, and are heralded to stardom. Dana White loves new markets and has a product that can apply anywhere in the world. Mexico is one of those markets that he has been actively working on, opening a performance institute in Mexico City and pioneering sporting events at the brand new Sphere, with UFC NOCHE on Mexican Independence Day. He calls the event his “love letter to Mexico.” The UFC’s combat sports rival, Boxing, has produced many badass world champions like Julio Caesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, some of the toughest people on Earth. That same tough fighting spirit lies within Brandon Moreno, the UFC’s first ever Mexican Champion. The Flyweight has had a journey that almost anyone can identify with, especially the people of Mexico. Life has been a game of Chutes and Ladders for Moreno but he made a promise to himself and his fans and honored that commitment. Flowers do grow from the concrete.
As a pioneer for Mexican MMA, Moreno’s career cannot be fully appreciated, unless we take a look at the history of his people and what got him here. Mexico has a rich history of fighting for their own identity and Brandon Moreno parallels his country of origin. The country of Mexico has grown in symbiosis with the formation of the Untied States of America, and has suffered the consequences of its relationship with the emerging world super power. Often achieving some sort of sovereignty, then squandering their freedoms they fought for. This has caused many political imbalances in the region that has ultimately, over a long period of time, led these people to fight for their country’s self actualization. The history of fighting dates back as early as the 15th century Spanish conquest of the Middle Americas. At the time the city state civilizations dominated the landscape with the major groups including the Mayans and the Aztecs. As many European countries looked for new raw materials and control over the new world, the indigenous people were now unsolicited players in the world economy. The Spanish brought disease, guns, and cavalry that wiped out large amounts of the population and with that seized control of region. The indigenous people did not go down without a fight, holding Tenochtitlan from superior Spanish forces for over two months. For the next 6 centuries, the people would fight from behind to find their own identity. Revolt, after rebellion, after revolt, after rebellion, the people of Mexico have always fought for freedom from the economic and military influence of firstly the Spanish, then Napoleons French Empire. Mexico has been paying for bad economic dealings and the culture of militarized leadership for centuries. This has lead to modern day drug cartels ruling the current socio political climate of the country. The culture has often exalted hero-like military leaders into power that have clashed with democratic centrists leading to extremism, political corruption, and forceful bids for power. It is in the blood of these people to fight when disenfranchised, facing poverty and power imbalances. Modern day Mexicans including Brandon Moreno, only know how to work hard and have a “by any means necessary” mentality. This sentiment is held true by one of Brandons career defining moments, a post fight interview after defeating Dustin Ortiz in 2017. He declared “maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, and maybe not the next month, pero (but) only one thing is true, I will be champion one day. I Promise, I promise.” Brandon’s underdog story is one that can inspire many, a journey to the pinnacle of sport from extremely humble beginnings.
Brandon Moreno was born in Tijuana, Mexico on December 7, 1993. His Mother and Father ran a Piñata business locally in his early childhood, eventually selling them in Southern California. Brandon has said he was relatively normal kid growing up, you know went to school, hung out with friends and helped with the family business. He recalls falling into an afterschool routine of coming home and playing video games. One of his favorites, Tekken. Tekken was an early 2 dimensional fighting Playstation video game. For the many casual players, a button mashing game, but a wildly popular and cutting edge video game for its time. One of Brandon’s favorite characters was this character named Eddy Gordo. This Brazilian Capoeira fighter was the favorite of many for his style of kicking and punching. Brandon has contributed his initial desire to get into training was largely inspired by the character. He began to realize he was getting chubby and eating a lot of junk food and wanted to do something about it around the age of 12, (the awareness of people far beyond his age). He asked his mom if he could get involved with something after school. She agreed and searched all around the city of Tijuana for a Capoeira gym, but came to no avail. The next best thing was the local MMA gym. Brandon took what he could and began training Jiu- Jitsu and kickboxing everyday afterschool. He spent so much time at the gym and liked it so much that his grades began to slip. He couldn’t focus on anything other than training. When the time came he began taking amateur fights at just 14 years of age. As he started getting deeper into the world of MMA his grades and behavior got so bad he was expelled from his school. Subsequently, Moreno started working for his parents full time making the sticks for the piñatas and trained with the rest of his spare time. During this time he would meet his future wife. Brandon would take amateur fights for three years before deciding to turn pro at 17 years old.
Brandon’s story starts here as he quickly was given an opportunity with the UFC in 2016 after whooping ass on the regional circuits. The UFC, at the time was developing their brand new Flyweight division for 125 lbs fighters. The star on the scene at the time was the all time great, Demetrious Johnson. DJ had been a dominant champion since the inception of the division, so the UFC devised a plan to use its promotional reality tv show, The Ultimate Fighter, to bring in a selection of regional champions from latin America to fight for the chance to take on DJ for Flyweight gold. This idea was a double whammy for the UFC, expanding the market into Central and South America, as well as finding new talent to bolster the Flyweight division’s infancy. Of 16 champions that all got the opportunity to appear on the show, Brandon Moreno was seeded last among the champions. He referenced his seeding in an interview leading up to his fight with Royval, birthing his underdog mentality. His first showing in front of the UFC’s decision makers didn’t go as planned. His first fight was against future Flyweight royalty, Alexandre Pantoja. The same guy who would later take Moreno’s belt in 2023. Back then, all of these guys were relatively unknown. So, a loss to Pantoja, didn’t mean what it means today. Moreno was eliminated off of the show, his first encounter with a setback. However the UFC decision makers still fell in love with his fighting style unknowingly. He would get an unexpected callback while his season of TUF was airing on TV to fight on short notice against Louis Smolka. He entered the fight a 5-1 underdog and made quick work of his opponent, submitting Smolka within minutes of the first round starting via guillotine choke; earning his first Performance of the Night in his career. He follows up this massive upset by beating Ryan Benoit by decision at the TUF: Tournament of Champions Finale in 2016. He made his next appearance in April of 2017 against Dustin Ortiz, earning another career win in the UFC, submitting Ortiz via rear naked choke in the second round. After this performance, Moreno made his famous claim that he would achieve UFC gold someday, in his post fight interview. This clip would gain virality later in his career, as he ascended the rankings towards a title shot. His claim of “maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow” showed his faith in the process of greatness and his never give up attitude. Much like a mirror of his countries history, Moreno would go on to lose his next two fights against at the time, nobodies, later, legends of the division. Sergio Pettis in 2017 and Alexandre Pantoja in 2018. These losses would ignite the next chapter of Morenos career, but at the time a major setback number two.
Moreno was quietly dropped from the UFC in an apparent miscommunication between Moreno and his managers at the time. Allegedly his managers were told he was dropped from the promotion, but word never disseminated to Moreno. He waited and trained with no word of booking a fight with the UFC for over a year. At the time, his wife was pregnant with their second child, money wasn’t coming in, thus thrusting him back into the piñata business and taking fights with the local promotion, LFA. He fought for the title in LFA and won, earning a little bit of money, but was still stressed out about the medical bills of his brand new kid who had some medical issues. Things were down for Moreno, however his unwavering underdog spirit kept him moving forward. Later in 2019, Moreno was brought back to the UFC on short notice to take on Askar Askarov for a fight night in Mexico City. This fight would turn out to be a split draw, but would reignite Brandons stock within the flyweight division. The fight with Askarov, showed the high quality product that a Moreno fight can be. These guys got in an absolute dog fight at a crazy high pace for three full rounds. This fight was the birthplace of Moreno’s unbelievable run in the Flyweight division that would land him in contention for gold years later.
Moreno’s legacy and notoriety would skyrocket for the next few years, as he went undefeated on his way to UFC Gold. The flyweight division had been starved of anything compelling for the longest time since its inception. There were little to no stars in the division, a sole champion that beat everyone and little engagement from fans. The entire landscape would change in a blink of an eye when Demetrious Johnson was suddenly traded to One Championship for Ben Askren. This was huge news for years after the trade because of this sentiment held by many, that the UFC traded away not only one of the best fighters of all time, but also the only star that made the Flyweight Division what it was. To make the whole trade even more rich, DJ would continue to dominate across all combat sports to this day, and Ben Askren’s career would nose dive after getting knocked out cold in 7 seconds by Jorge Masvidal, who ran across the cage after the bell and slept Askren with a flying knee faster than anyone could ever have anticipated. This trade took all the identity away from the division, and would create this environment where stars in the bantamweight division were using it to farm successes. People like Cejudo, Garbrandt, and Dillashaw all had their time in the division, putting on big fights, but the era was littered with controversy (doping). All while the divisions gold was changing hands among these kinds of guys, the talent pool was being enriched in the background. Moreno was one of these guys starting to gain momentum, putting on interesting fights. Moreno’s record sat at (18-5-2) after his split draw with Askarov in 2019. The next two years Moreno would beat the right guys to land himself in what I believe to be his career defining Quadrilogy with Deiveson Figueiredo. The first of these guys was Kai Kara-France. Kara-France fights with City Kickboxing, the same camp as the dominant Israel Adesanya, a sound, well rounded fighter with his own momentum coming into the fight. The fight started the fireworks for Brandon Moreno. Moreno stood with world class striker for three full rounds dealing and taking big shots. This was the first time, the world saw the dog thats in this kid. His ability to shrug off damage reminds us of Justin Gaethje. They almost get better after getting their bell rung. After 3 rounds, Brandon got his hand raised in the end as he was able to endure the pace longer than Kara-France. After this fight, just four months later, Moreno, ranked 5th at the time would take on number 3 ranked fighter Jussier Formiga, and would essentially retire the guy from the UFC and MMA. They went three full rounds in what was fundamentally a grappling match with very few strikes. Moreno snagged the first two rounds from Formiga guaranteeing the decision win for himself. This was a good look for the rising Moreno, because it proved he can scramble and grapple with the best in the world, that he is not just a dogfighter. His next fight would come to be a contenders fight against the nimble Brandon Royval. The fight would end as quickly as it started in the final moments of the first round. In a high paced round, where both fighters constantly scrambled for top position, in the final seconds, Moreno ended up on top landing some ground and pound, where the fight was stopped by the Referee. Royval’s shoulder had popped out, but Moreno found the win nonetheless. This series of wins was nothing short of Moreno’s destiny coming together. Even though he wasn’t dominating these guys, he ended up right where he needed to be in the end because the next few years would define the Brandon Moreno we know today.
The sitting champion of the division at the time was Deiveson Figueiredo who had claimed the vacant Flyweight championship over Joseph Benividez in 2020 after Henry Cejudo retired and vacated the belt. Moreno had earned his shot at fulfilling his commitment to winning gold and what would happen next, I believe is the defining moment in this divisions history that cemented its viability within the UFC. Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo would go on to fight 4 times over the next few years in one of the most action packed, exciting, compelling quadrilogies, let alone trilogies in fight history. If fight fans didn’t see the first fight, they definitely tuned into the rest of the fights. When you saw these guys getting matched up on a card, you could sit comfortably knowing the card wouldn’t suck or be a waste of time and money. The Flyweight Division was put on the map very quickly because of these two guys plain and simple. Each fight felt like an extension of unsettled beef from the previous fight and they single handedly made the little guys cool again. The quadrilogy went a little like this… scramble, big moment, scramble, big moment, scramble, big moment for four straight fights. If thats not clear you gots to go on the ol’ YouTube to get a glimpse of what I’m talking about. The example these guys put out of what flyweight fights can look like without the esteem of knockout power and stoicism, really did save the divisions reputation. Moreno finally found his opportunity to become the first Mexican born champion in UFC History In the very first meeting between these two, the fight went five rounds with Figgy dictating a majority of the pace. Figgy was highly aggressive and ran into a lot of big shots from Moreno in the process. Due to a groin strike in the middle rounds, Figueiredo was deducted a full point. This point reduction was enough to result in a majority draw. With the fight going to a draw, the rematch was paramount, not only to resolve the story of these two guys, but also it was also fight of the night, and at the time captured the attention of fight fans around the world. Brandon Moreno got his second chance at the title just 6 months later where fireworks flew yet again. The second fight picked up right where the last on left off. The fight was high paced, both guys traded big shots, but something was different this time, Moreno seemed to be in the driver seat. Moreno’s body looked more muscular, a calmer nature from the contender was revealed and something about the first round told you, maybe this guy can actually pull this off. Moreno in the dying minutes of the first round catches Figgy and drops him, woah, this guy is here to make a point. The second round begins and Figgy immediately gets Moreno to the ground, after a few minutes trying to connect his hands together around Moreno for the choke, Moreno squirms out of the bottom position and gets Figgy’s back in the clinch, converting his own takedown, where he rode out the rest of the round with some ground and pound. In the third round, lightning would strike for the Mexican, as he would slip in a rear naked choke after getting Figgy to the ground. He had done it. Finally fulfilling his self made prophecy. Up to this point, Brandon Moreno had many ups and downs, “chutes and ladders” that galvanized him into a world champion. Tears of pure elation streamed down the champions face as he curled into a ball after the belt was strapped to him. From getting seeded last in the tournament of champions, getting dropped from the roster, taking losses sequentially, to putting out a great product in the octagon, getting his time to shine and becoming Flyweight royalty.
Moreno has always had this boyish charm, so its like watching your little brother achieve his dreams. It’s interesting to dive into why people like certain fighters more than others. It all boils down to authenticity. The guy is in the tough guy business, but loves legos and laughing about nerdy things. Inauthenticity is wildly easy to spot, and guys like Aljamain Sterling and Belal Muhammed are terrific examples of this idea. Both are extremely talented and accomplished in the sport of MMA, but struggled to get opportunity and respect from fans, because of this fake tough guy personas they put on. Its okay to kick ass and be a normal guy, but the sport does need heals much like WWE. If people hate you just as much as they love a guy like Moreno, they’ll watch. The respect and adoration just isn’t the same.
Brandon Moreno, isn’t done however. Moreno would go on to fight Figgy another two times and solidify their flyweight legacy together. The entanglement of these two guys will go down in history. In the very next fight, Figgy would get the best of Moreno in a five round war. The fight was just as exciting as the last, as fans started to understand these guys were always meant to fight each other. These guys could just fight each other for the rest of time and people wouldn’t get tired of watching. After three fights, the boys were even, one draw, each had one win. The fight world needed this legendary trilogy to be resolved. They would meet one last time to settle the beef in January 2023. Finally we had arrived at culmination of both careers. One last dance to decide who would reign supreme in this chapter of the UFC Flyweight division. This fight would begin a little more composed and reserved than the previous three, but it would quickly heat up. In the first couple moments of the first round, the fight would go to the ground, Moreno got himself tied up in a guillotine choke. After riding out the choke, Moreno would flip out of it and stand back up. The jockeying for position and damage would continue for the rest of the round and much of the second. Both fighters were highly adjusted to one another, and seemingly knew what was coming at them. The reserved nature of both fighters completely dissolved in the third round. The chaos was back again. Little did we know, the third round would be the final moments of this great quadrilogy. In the middle minutes of round three, Moreno, would lunge forward and catch his left hand’s thumb knuckle under the eye of Figgy. After riding the round out on the ground, the fighters went to their respective corners. Figgy’s eye was rapidly swelling, with a massive gash underneath the eye leaking blood. By the time the next round was due to start, Figgy’s eye had completely shut, prompting the Referee to have a doctor check it out. After struggling with the eye check, the doctor deemed Figgy unfit to continue. Brandon Moreno had done it. 2x Flyweight Champion, first Mexican-Born UFC Champion, triumphant in the best fight series of all time, and actualized the dreams of his 12 year old self. Now, Moreno still fights until this day and is floating around the top of the division. The accolades of his career are something to note as well. He has 7 Fight of the Night Bonuses, rapidly approaching Demetrious Johnsons record for the division of 9. Has amassed 4 hours and 43 minutes of fight time in the octagon, the most in the divisions history. Moreno racked up 1131 significant strikes as well, the most in the divisions history. All of these accolades for Brandon Moreno are proof of his legacy, and cements this kid as one of the best to ever do it. Moreno is living proof that life’s setbacks are what ultimately launch us forward on our destiny. Any roadblock you may experience in life, the way past it, is through it. Moreno’s life can parallel to anybodies, as we all experience our own game of chutes and ladders.
Brandon Moreno, Lover of Legos, Fierce provider for his family, Conquerer of the fighting world, Flyweight Legend, Underdog, and most importantly a Man of good character. Flowers do grow from the concrete.
Sources: wikipedia.com, youtube.com, espn.com,
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