Brandon Moreno was 16 when Cain Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, but he remembers it as clear as day. Seeing the Mexican tricolor sported in the UFC cage propelled Moreno (19-5-2 MMA, 8-2-2 UFC) down a path to achieve his own greatness. Over a decade later, Moreno hoisted his home country’s flag and title gold when he submitted Deiveson Figueiredo this past Saturday at UFC 263 to become the first Mexico-born champion in promotion history. After a year of no crowds and no cheers, Moreno was flooded with applause and support throughout fight week – from the pre-fight press conference to his post-fight interview in the octagon with Joe Rogan. His star ceiling hasn’t been reached, in a market that has not birthed a UFC champion prior to his crowning. From the beginning, it’s been Moreno’s goal to increase the popularity of mixed martial arts in Mexico, a country with a rich boxing history but with only a few mixed martial arts legends
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