TIJUANA’S MORENO READY TO KEEP HIS TITLE AT UFC 270

Which Parisian pugilist will emerge as the undisputed heavyweight champion when Francis Ngannou takes on fellow Frenchman and interim champion Ciryl Gane?

Can Tijuana-bred flyweight champion Brandon Moreno keep Brazilian jiujitsu black belt Deiveson Figueiredo from evening the score?

The tandem of title fights highlights UFC 270 at Honda Center in Anaheim and on ESPN+ pay-per-view tonight. This will be the first UFC event in the Southland since UFC 241 on Aug. 17, 2019, when Stipe Miocic knocked out Daniel Cormier to regain the heavyweight championship.

Moreno (19-5-2) will face Figueiredo (20-2-1) in a trilogy fight that could generate the most interest among Southland viewers because of Moreno’s popularity.

Moreno, Mexico’s first UFC champion, will fight Figueiredo for the third consecutive time. They fought to a majority draw in 2020 in a fightof-the-year contender, and last June, Moreno made sure there was no debate when he choked out Figueiredo to win the title.

Moreno has revived his career after an uneven run from 2016 to 2019 resulted in his release from the UFC. After winning a title in a different promotion in his lone fight outside UFC, Moreno made it back, and hasn’t lost during a 40-2 run.

Moreno, whose family runs a piñata business in Mexico that distributes its products throughout Southern California, is looking to lean on his knowledge of Figueiredo to deliver another beating.

“I just want to fight (today), keep the fight with me and be ready for the next one,” Moreno said. “But definitely this part of my life, this trilogy, will be something nice in my legacy.”