Brandon Moreno Lays Out His Retirement Plans and It’s Sooner than You Think
Brandon Moreno doesn’t see himself fighting to his forties or even close to it, for that matter.
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Still young in the game is the two-time UFC Flyweight Champion at 30, but nothing lasts forever with Moreno knowing there will be a day where he eventually hangs up the gloves for good. Moreno’s timeline for retirement may come sooner rather than later however, entering what wil be his 32nd fight as a professional this weekend in the main event of UFC Edmonton.
Suffering back-to-back losses to Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, Moreno looks to redeem himself with a win over top-ranked Amir Albazi and potentially re-enter title contention ahead of his 31st birthday in December.
Champion or not, Moreno says he’d like to retire from MMA earlier than most fighters with his foot out the door no later than 34.
“So I have my goal very clear. I’m not putting extra pressure on myself, but I wanna retire young. I’m thinking maybe like 33, 34,” Moreno told Demetrious Johnson of his retirement plans.
“A lot of people [say] like, ‘man, you’re very young…’ Like, yes, I’m very young. My spirit is amazing. I feel like 20 right now. But my body, I start this sport very young with bad habits, like, don’t use a headgear and don’t do this and don’t take care of your injuries. [Not] doing physical therapy, all these bad habits, I start to feel it right now. So, I want to be out of the sport healthy.”
Brandon Moreno’s never been knocked out in his professional career but “The Assassin Baby” seen his fair share of wars in the Octagon, going 16 rounds with Deiveson Figueiredo, eight with current champ Alexandre Pantoja and six with top contenders Kai Kara-France and Brandon Royval.
Not just a fan-favorite in the flyweight division, Moreno is also a family man, another reason to leave the sport like he plans to in 3-4 years from now.
“I want to try to enjoy my family a little bit more. I want to be very present in the life of my daughters, my wife, and that’s it,” Moreno added. “I have a very long career. I’ve been in this sport for so many years and I think it’s smart to be out of the sport at that age.”
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