Well, Here’s the Good News

It’s not all doom and gloom in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Some members of the MMA community have been doing some great things and announcing exciting personal news. It’s important to stay positive, and I’m here to help you achieve that goal. We have decided to help keep that positivity flowing the best that we can. Nothing but good news for you to feast your eyes on.

The story of Brandon Moreno’s rise to become the UFC flyweight champion will be one of the best stories to emerge from the world of mixed martial arts this year. Starting off his UFC career, he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. Moreno was picked last out of all participants that season, he lost his opening fight to Alexandre Pantoja and was eliminated from the competition.

Even though he was unsuccessful in the TUF house, Moreno was added onto the UFC roster in 2016. It was a win over Dustin Ortiz in 2017 that that prompted the Mexican fighter to proclaim that one day he would be champion. He went on to run up a record of 3-2 before he was surprisingly cut in 2018 after losing two on the bounce.

Moreno moved to LFA after being cut from the UFC. He immediately picked up the LFA 135 pound championship and was reinstated back into the UFC ranks in late 2019. He has been undefeated since his return picking up wins over Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga, Brandon Royval, and a draw with Askar Askarov and Deiveson Figueiredo in their first encounter in late 2020.

Last weekend, Moreno turned a dream into reality when he dominated champion Deiveson Figueiredo, finishing the fight by rear naked choke in round three to become the first every Mexican born UFC champion. The win brought great excitement in Moreno’s gym in Tijuana. Early this week the new flyweight champion brought the belt home. This is really a special story to have overcome the bitter disappointment of the past, to battle through all the losses and emerge as the champion. This is the magic of mixed martial arts. Brandon Moreno never gave up and always believed in himself.

Congratulations must go to UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson and his partner. They both welcomed Angel Anthony Ferguson into the world at the start of June.

UFC middleweight champion returned to his native Nigeria and provided meals through the Lagos Food Bank Initiative to the community where he grew up. A noble gesture from the champ.

Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion George St. Pierre had a statue erected in his hometown of Saint-Isidore in Quebec. The UFC Hall of Famer spoke about the honor after unveiling the statue.

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Old foes Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold at one stage couldn’t bare to be in each others company. Recently Rockhold has been doing some training at Jason Parillo’s gym, a gym where Bisping also attends. It’s great to see that both fighters can let bygones be bygones and leave the past behind them.

Former UFC champion and current PFL lightweight Anthony Pettis became a Dad this week as he welcomed his daughter into the world.

Ian O'Neill is the host of the SevereMMA UFC Preview show and one of the co-hosts of The Auld Triangle - Irish MMA podcast. You can find more of Ian's work on the SevereMMA Patreon where he co-hosts The Chasing Pack and The Contender. Follow him on Twitter and on Instagram @ioneillmma

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