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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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‘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

Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid

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Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid
Dana
White remains involved in discussions surrounding a potential
NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO was asked about the NBA
potentially expanding to Las Vegas and whether he remains involved
with a prospective ownership group during Tuesday's
Dana White's Contender Series post-fight press conference.

UFC CEO Dana White says he remains involved with a prospective
ownership group tied to NBA expansion in Las Vegas

White previously acknowledged that he had been approached about
potentially becoming part of an ownership group connected to a Las
Vegas NBA expansion effort. When asked for an update following
reports that the NBA is reviewing finalist bids for a potential Las
Vegas franchise, White simply said, “Yes.â€

ESPN reported that the NBA is reviewing bids
for a potential Las Vegas expansion franchise. The bids reportedly
value the franchise and arena proposals at between $12 billion and
$13 billion. The three finalist groups are led by Nancy Walton
Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and
Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo.

White has attended several NBA games and is a fan of the Boston
Celtics. He is also close friends with Celtics head coach Joe
Mazzulla.

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MMA

Ilia Topuria is back in the gym after brutal Justin Gaethje loss

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Ilia Topuria is back in the gym after brutal Justin Gaethje loss
Ilia
Topuria is back in the gym.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight
titleholder recently shared photos of himself hitting mitts on
Instagram with the caption, “Back to the office.â€

Ilia Topuria resumes full training after receiving medical
clearance following his loss to Justin Gaethje

The post comes after Topuria announced earlier this month that he
had completed medical testing and was cleared to return to full
training. He suffered his first professional loss against Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250 in June. Topuria has said he sustained
significant facial damage during the bout that severely compromised
his vision.

His corner ultimately stopped the fight after the fourth round.

Topuria has remained vocal about the result since receiving medical
clearance. In announcing that he had been cleared, Topuria called
for a rematch with Gaethje and accused the American of illegally
loading his gloves.

A rematch with Gaethje has been rumored, as has a grudge match with
Paddy
Pimblett.

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MMA

Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses

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Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses
Marvin
Vettori has changed things up in an attempt to snap his losing
streak.

Vettori (19-10) has lost four fights in a row in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and is scheduled to face
Ismail
Naurdiev (25-8) at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Italian
recently revealed that he has parted ways with
American Top Team and returned to
Kings MMA.

Beneil Dariush takes over as Vettori’s head coach ahead of UFC
332

While Vettori has no complaints about ATT, he believes the gym
wasn't getting the best out of him. The former title challenger has
returned to his roots in California, where he trained during his
ascent through the middleweight ranks. While the Kings MMA team he
previously trained with no longer exists in the same form, Vettori
said he is now training with Beneil
Dariush as his head coach.

“I made some changes… I'm back in California,†Vettori told MMA
Fighting. “I had to find myself again and I did. I feel good. I’m
actually excited to fight… I went back to my roots and went back to
what made me the fighter who won five in a row and fought for the
title… ATT, I've got nothing but great things to say. I feel like
it wasn't getting the best out of me… [My new team] is not Kings
MMA like the one that was before; that doesn't even exist anymore.
I have been training with Beneil Dariush as a head coach. And I
went back to my boxing coach, my S&C coach.â€

Vettori trained at Kings MMA from 2015 to 2022 before a brief stint
at
Xtreme Couture. “The Italian Dream†then moved to Florida in
2023 to train at ATT.

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