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‘No one is here putting a gun to my head to do this’: Brandon Moreno on fresh career focus heading into first Noche UFC fight

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2 months ago

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‘No one is here putting a gun to my head to do this’: Brandon Moreno on fresh career focus heading into first Noche UFC fight

For the first time, Brandon Moreno will compete on a Noche UFC event, and he'll do so with an extremely positive attitude.

The former two-time UFC flyweight champion is set to face Joseph Morales at Saturday's fight card in Glendale, Ariz., which just so happens to be in the same arena where he captured his first UFC world title in a submission win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263 in June 2021.

“I got the first title there in Glendale, Ariz.,†Moreno told MMA Fighting. “They changed the name of the name of the arena, but in the same location and actually before [I fought there in] the UFC, I fought like four or five times in Arizona, in a local promotion, WFF.

“So I have really good memories from Arizona, and man, the No.1 [memory], like getting the title with all the crowd is screaming my name is all the people, all the Mexican flags around. Yeah man, it's a special place to me for sure.â€

“The Assassin Baby†often reflects on the incredible night in Arizona, where the crowd was absolutely on fire for his co-main event championship victory.

Not only that, but what came after his biggest victory where he mentally captured some moments with two fellow former UFC world champions

“I just remember different moments of the fight, different moments of that night,†Moreno explained. “Like, for example, once I finished the fight, I went to my locker room, I put on my suit, I was walking to the press conference, going with my wife, with my teammates, with my daughter. I don't remember why, but Francis Ngannou was there and he was taking care of my daughter. My youngest daughter, he was carrying my daughter. That was super cool.

“Then like eating pizza with Israel Adesanya in the post [press] conference. That was super nice. So man, all those kind of moments make this fight super special because, again, I have just good memories from there.â€

There have been numerous reasons over the years that Moreno has not been able to compete at a Noche UFC card. During the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet in July, Moreno told reporters that he was hoping to get the chance to compete at the annual event.

Moreno got his wish, and he couldn't be more thrilled.

“Man, finally, I'm going to fight at a Noche UFC,†Moreno said. “This is gonna be the fourth edition of Noche. I wasn't able to fight on the other ones for different reasons, like injuries or the schedules, but finally I, I made it and I'm super excited.

“It's something I wanted to do this year, fight at Noche, and fighting against Joseph Morales… but he's going to be super motivated and that made me feel excited to fight, more on that card.â€

It's not a normal setting for Moreno as he enters the bout against an unranked fighter on a two-fight losing skid — a stoppage loss to Tatsuro Taira at at UFC 323 this past December, followed by a decision loss to Lone'er Kavanagh in the main event of UFC Mexico City in February.

While Moreno sees a lot of Morales — who returned to the UFC after winning season 33 of The Ultimate Fighter and submitting both of his opponents in official octagon bouts — in himself back in the day, Moreno has a much fresher viewpoint on his career and the fight game; enjoy the moments for as long as it lasts.

“Man, 100 percent,†Moreno said. “I think more in this kind of sport, like man, tomorrow I can get injured and that's it, and that's crazy. â€So man, you have to try to enjoy it, because no one is here putting a gun in the head to do this. I'm doing this because I really love the sport and that's it.

“Because I feel able to keep doing it because I feel healthy and I'm still doing amazing things in the gym, in my practices and that's why I'm here, man. So yes, you have to remember what you started.â€

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MMA fighter Jindrich Janecka resuscitated after cardiac arrest in cage

Published

9 hours ago

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November 12, 2026

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MMA fighter Jindrich Janecka resuscitated after cardiac arrest in cage

Jindrich Janecka went into
cardiac arrest during his bout against Tomas
Skalicky at Cage Game 2, according to Oktagon
MMA chief medic Norbert Bidrman.

Janecka appeared hurt after a kick to the body and was later
knocked out by a punch. The bout took place under Oktagon MMA's
stand-and-bang rules, which prohibit ground fighting.

Oktagon MMA chief medic describes CPR, defibrillation and
Janecka regaining consciousness at Cage Game 2

Bidrman said the medical team performed CPR, delivered a shock and
administered oxygen. Janecka regained consciousness in the cage and
was able to speak with the team before an ambulance took him to the
hospital. Bidrman said a blow to the chest may have triggered an
abnormal heart rhythm, but the cause had not been confirmed.

“I'm the head medic here at Oktagon. We just had a very emergency
situation here, where one of the fighters, specifically Jindra,
went into a sudden cardiac arrest. After some cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, we delivered a shock. He was given oxygen and
brought back to life. He is fully oriented to place, time, and
person. And BRNO, the ambulance service, whom we greatly thank for
arriving on time, has taken him over, and he is now already at the
hospital. Jindra, I want to repeat, was already fully conscious in
the cage. He was communicating with us. And now we just want to
find the cause of why this happened. Most likely this could have
been some kind of arrhythmia caused by a blow to the chest that he
received earlier,†Bidrman said in a statement shared on X.

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MMA

UFC 334 | Pro fighters make their picks for Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes title fight

Published

18 hours ago

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November 11, 2026

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UFC 334 | Pro fighters make their picks for Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes title fight
Trending:

Josh Hokit compared to Cain Velasquez by Ciryl Gane's coach ahead of UFC 334 showdown

The UFC heads to Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, for UFC 334. In the co-main event, Kayla Harrison defends her women's bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes. Heading into the bout, Harrison is a -196 favorite while the former champ is a +152 underdog on FanDuel.

Ahead of the bout at UFC 334, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the women's bantamweight title fight. The pros believe Nunes will upset Harrison in her return and reclaim the bantamweight title.

BJPENN.com Fighter Picks Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes:

Julian Erosa, UFC featherweight: I think Nunes. She has less muscle than Harrison, and muscle takes oxygen, and I think Nunes wins in the later rounds.

Dustin Jacoby, UFC light heavyweight: This is a good fight. Amanda is coming back, so there are some questions, and she has the knockout power. But, I do think Kayla will get the win with her wrestling.

Gillian Robertson, UFC strawweight: Amanda. I've trained with and known her for a long time, so I might be bias. But I do think she is the greatest woman in combat sports, and I think Amanda won't be scared of Kayla's judo and will be aggressive on the feet with her striking.

Mario Bautista, UFC bantamweight: I think Amanda Nunes gets the win. Kayla cuts a lot of weight, and I do worry about that with how hard Amanda hits.

Modestas Bukauskas, UFC light heavyweight: A very tough fight to pick. Kayla has been great in the UFC, but I can never pick against Amanda. Although she does have a layoff, I think she wins.

Terrance McKinney, UFC lightweight: I think Kayla Harrison wins. She will be able to take Amanda down, and Nunes will get tired as we have seen in the past. Kayla defends her belt.

***

Fighters picking Kayla Harrison: Dustin Jacoby, Terrance McKinney

Fighters picking Amanda Nunes: Julian Erosa, Gillian Robertson, Mario Bautista, Modestas Bukauskas

ICYMI: Pro fighters also made their picks for the UFC 334 main event featuring Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit.

Who do you think will win the UFC 334 co-main event between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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Kayla Harrison’s coach downplays past experience with Amanda Nunes playing any real part in UFC 334 fight  

Published

1 day ago

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November 11, 2026

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Kayla Harrison’s coach downplays past experience with Amanda Nunes playing any real part in UFC 334 fight  

As Kayla Harrison prepares to face Amanda Nunes in the UFC 334 co-main event, a lot of the focus for the fight is going to center around them previously training together at American Top Team and even sharing the same coaches at times.

But Mike Brown, who previously coached Nunes and has served as Harrison's head coach since the first day she stepped foot in the gym, says that narrative is really being blown out of proportion. While Brown knows that Harrison and Nunes crossed paths from time to time, they were never that close long before they were scheduled to compete for the women's bantamweight championship.

“It's a big gym,†Brown told MMA Fighting. “There's a lot of training partners. They weren't training partners that often. Very seldom.â€

Of course, Brown gets pulled into that conversation a lot because he did coach both fighters but even that doesn't really cause a conflict of interest. At least in his book.

“I have a job,†Brown explained. “I work for Kayla and I work for ATT. That's my job. I trained with Amanda, but I was never her official head coach. But I did work with her for a handful of fights.

“But this is business. It's a big fight, and they're both going to make a bunch of money and everyone is in a good situation.â€

Now Brown obviously has an intimate knowledge about the good, the bad and the ugly working with both fighters but even that doesn't necessarily serve as an advantage.

Nunes left American Top Team, and effectively started her own gym, and that's continued as she prepares for her comeback from retirement. But Brown knows that Harrison and Nunes both have enough footage out there that the strategy come Saturday night isn't going to be some revolutionary change from what each has done in the past.

“I think they both each other's strengths and weaknesses,†Brown said. “Amanda's a big power puncher and everyone knows that. Kayla is a world class grappler and a multiple world champion, a world champion in judo, so there's no secrets in what each fighter's going to want to do.

“I don't think you would have had to coach them to figure that out. I think everyone knows what everyone wants to do here. It comes down to who can implement their game plan.â€

Since the day she started in the sport, Harrison has long talked about defining her legacy by becoming the greatest of all-time.

With two Olympic gold medals in judo along with a UFC championship and several PFL championships, Harrison could already make a compelling argument as the greatest combat sports athlete in history.

That said, Brown acknowledges that Nunes' accolades are undeniable and adding that win to her resume should help separate Harrison from any past competition when it comes to that greatest of all-time conversation.

“I believe so just because of her track record,†Brown said about Harrison. “Her near perfect record. Amanda's beaten every champion I believe at 135 except for Kayla. She's beat every champ that's ever been at the weight. That's pretty damn impressive except for Kayla. Obviously, she's done more in the sport than Kayla, but Kayla's record is near perfect. One blemish with [Larissa] Pacheco in their third fight. She had beat her twice before that.

“She's clearly head and shoulders above the competition. She also has a very high finish rate I would consider her the greatest of all-time if she wins this fight.â€

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