Brandon Moreno tells what would turn the tables around in Alexandre Pantoja rematch

Brandon Moreno has lost to Alexandre Pantoja both times that the two have clashed. While the first loss was not official as it came via submission on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions, the second loss came via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 129.

The flyweight champion recently shared what he believes will change his fortunes against Pantoja in their upcoming title bout. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour podcast, 'The Assassin Baby' stated:

"I can talk about a lot of different things like the technical part, the mental part, whatever, but the real difference for this fight will be that I'm a better athlete. I'm a better athlete and I'll show that on July 8th."

Moreno continued:

"I said this before and I'm going to say this right now, he never fought against the best Brandon Moreno in that moment when we fought each other, but right now I'm just focused on him. I'm just training for him. Doing the game plan for him. I'm ready man."

Check out Brandon Moreno's comments on Alexandre Pantoja below:

Brandon Moreno says Alexandre Pantoja hasn't fought "the best" version of Moreno yet. #TheMMAHour

"The real difference for this fight will be I’m a better athlete."

▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=pjfTU5… https://t.co/EgEQxGkgjL

While Moreno has lost both bouts against Pantoja, the champ has lost just one of his last ten fights. The No.2-ranked flyweight, on the other hand, has won his last three fights and will have his first opportunity to challenge for the title.

Brandon Moreno hopes to face Henry Cejudo following title defense

Following his UFC 288 bantamweight title fight loss to Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo hinted that he is yet again pondering retirement. Brandon Moreno, who had a public fallout with 'Triple C', took to Instagram to urge the former double champ not to retire, stating:

"@henry_cejudo don’t retire yet, please wait for me, I’m going to win my fight in July, and then we can finish business, main event in Mexico City, I go to 135 lbs, fuck belts, just you and me in the octagon !!"

Check out Brandon Moreno's Instagram post below:

Speaking to Danny Segura of MMA Junkie, 'The Assassin Baby' reiterated his desire to face his friend-turned-foe:

"I don't want to disrespect (Pantoja) at all. I only left that comment because Henry was saying that he didn't know what was going to happen, that he might retire, and all I wanted to do was plant the seed like, 'Hey, don't go just yet. Wait for me and give me a chance', but beyond that, I don't have much to say. I need to focus on Alexandre because he's a serious challenge."

Check out Brandon Moreno's comments on Henry Cejudo below (starting at the 31:09 mark):

The two fighters fell out after Cejudo selected Pantoja to his team in The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions, passing on Moreno. The flyweight champion will defend his title at UFC 290 next month. Meanwhile, the former double champ is likely to face Marlon 'Chito' Vera at UFC 292.