When Brandon Moreno steps into the Octagon for his unprecedented fourth meeting with Deiveson Figueiredo, he will do so without his coach James Krause.
Krause was banned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in November pending an investigation into suspicious gambling activity. As a result, Krause was also banned from all UFC events and any fighter continuing to work with him would not be permitted to compete. That left Moreno in a precarious position as he prepared for the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career.
Brandon Moreno will meet flyweight rival Deiveson Figueiredo for the fourth, and presumably final time, in the co-main event of UFC 283 on January 21. Ahead of the highly anticipated 125-pound clash, ‘The Assassin Baby’ sat down with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto to discuss the moment he realized that James Krause would no longer be his head coach.
“I don’t remember the specific moment. I think Miles Johns had a fight against Vice Morales here in Las Vegas and James wasn’t able to be in the corner so in that moment, all the team was… All the fighters in the UFC started like, ‘What can happen in the future?’ In that moment I started to think about the future. Nothing really like very serious, but I started to get the thoughts.”
Moreno shared details of his conversation with Krause once the former fighter turned coach was informed of his ban by both the NSAC and the UFC.
“He called me. One day he called me. I think it was the day before all the media started to put the news, you know, on Instagram. Social media. The day before, he called me. We had a deep conversation and he told me about the situation and everything and that’s it. I can’t lie to you, it was a little bit of a disappointment. I was a little bit sad, but something [there’s] something special in me and I can recognize that. I’m very good passing the page. If I need to do something to change my bad situation, I will. Like, fast. After the call with James, I’m starting to think about what is next for me.”
It’s #UFC283 FIGHT WEEK! 🥊
TWO TITLE FIGHTS
– Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill, UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
– Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Brandon Moreno, UFC Flyweight ChampionshipWho are you backing? #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/8BHQkcqIJP
— MMA DIRT (@MMADIRTcom) January 16, 2023
Brandon Moreno on Training With Sayif Saud Ahead of UFC 283
In need of a coach, Brandon Moreno turned to Fortis MMA head coach Sayif Saud. Working with notable fighters including Macy Chiasson, Geoff Neal, and Uriah Hall, Saud is a well-respected individual in the world of MMA. ‘The Assassin Baby’ had nothing, but positive things to say about their interaction with one another.
“I have a lot of respect for Sayif because he did it from the bottom of his heart. Like, ‘Hey, I just want to help. I don’t want like nothing. I don’t want any credit. I don’t want nothing, I just want to help. I just want to help him.’ So he came in one day. I think he had a few fighters fighting at The APEX. I don’t remember well, but he came and we trained together. He gave me all his thoughts about the fight. What he think I could do in the last one and we start to connect.
“Obviously it was hard for everybody because he was kind of new. Like working with a new team kind of because again, I already have my boxing coach. My jiu-jitsu coach so for maybe like two weeks the thing was trying to build everything together, but right now, in this moment, I feel we did it. I feel very confident about what we did in the training camp. This part is the last one and I’m ready to fight.”
