Jussier Formiga believes win over Brandon Moreno puts him ‘within striking distance’ of title shot
Jussier Formiga believes he can possibly earn a flyweight title shot with a win at UFC Brasilia.
Formiga is taking on Brandon Moreno who’s coming off a very impressive win over Kai Kara-France at UFC 245. So, the Brazilian believes if he can get his hand raised here, he will be within striking distance of a title shot. The title, of course, is currently vacant after Deiveson Figueiredo knocked out Joseph Benavidez but missed weight.
“He fights in a Mexican style, with emphasis on boxing,” Formiga told MMA Junkie. “He also has good head kicks, he does a little bit of everything, including grappling. He’s good. He has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. I believe this will be a great challenge. I’m excited and motivated for this fight, I’m looking to defend my spot in the rankings. I’m also looking forward to fighting in Brazil again after three years. I don’t know what the future holds, but another good victory should certainly put me within striking distance of a title shot.”
Figueiredo and Benavidez are expected to rematch but Formiga, who is the only person to beat the Brazilian, knows that win has extra stock now.
“Deiveson Figueiredo was a very difficult opponent,” Formiga said. “He’s very dangerous. He was undefeated up to that point, on a four-fight win streak in the UFC. I was able to show him that once you get into the top five, everything becomes more difficult. I was happy to beat him in convincing fashion.”
Entering this fight, Jussier Formiga is coming off the loss to Joseph Benavidez where he said he has learned and grown from that.
“I make no excuses,” Formiga said. “I had a good training camp – that’s the truth. Nothing went wrong. During the fight, I took some kicks around the waistline on the second round. They had a detrimental effect. They wore me down. My primary lesson, going into my next bout, is not allowing that to happen again. My last fight broke my winning streak. MMA doesn’t allow for errors. For every error, there’s a price to be paid. But that was last year. That chapter is closed. Now, I’m highly motivated for my clash against Brandon Moreno.”
