"The UFC set it up on purpose" - Eric Albarracin on what went wrong between Henry Cejudo and Brandon Moreno on The Ultimate Fighter
Brandon Moreno and Henry Cejudo have developed a rivalry since 'The Assassin Baby' shifted loyalities to Cejudo's rival Joseph Benavidez. Cejudo's teammate Eric Albarracin recently revealed what went down between 'Triple C' and Moreno.
According to Albarracin, Moreno was brought into The Ultimate Fighter 24 on the insistence of Cejudo, who was one of the coaches. However, Moreno went on to compete against Cejudo's team.
According to Albarracin, the UFC set up the slots in a way that Cejudo would have to pick between the number one seed and his friend Moreno. Albarracin recently told MMA Junkie's Nolan King:
"The UFC set it up on purpose. Because, it was international fight week, the first week of The Ultimate Fighter 24 and we went to the UFC event. And UFC brass came up to us and their first question to me was, did you pick Pantoja, the number one seed and the answer I said was 'Yes.' And they were like, 'Yes!' They set it up. They were like, 'Okay, you guys forced us to put Brandon Moreno on, but now you're gonna have to make a choice. If you pick number one seed, your best friend goes to the other side. if you pick your best friend, the number one seed goes to the other side.' So they set us up like that and we fell for it."
Watch Eric Albarracin's interview with MMA Junkie below:
Henry Cejudo went on to coach Brandon Moreno's rival
Henry Cejudo went on to lose against Joseph Benavidez in the TUF 24 finale. 'Triple C' held a grudge against Moreno for training with his opponent despite the close bond between them.
Cejudo got a shot at payback when Deiveson Figueiredo challenged Moreno for the flyweight title at UFC 270. Cejudo was in Figueiredo's corner as he fought Moreno tooth and nail to earn a unanimous decision win.
@Daico_Deiveson 🇧🇷 @Daico_Deiveson 🇧🇷 vence a Brandon Moreno por decisión unánime en una pelea muy cerrada #UFC270 https://t.co/tdRmleBzcO
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno had previously faced each other on two occasions. While Figueiredo retained his belt via a majority draw in the first outing, Moreno was able to dethrone him via third round submission the second time around. After Figueiredo regained his title in the third outing, a fourth matchup between the two is already in talks.