BRANDON MORENO was left with gruesome facial injuries after his title fight win over Kai Kara-France.
The Mexican faces Kara-France for the interim flyweight title at UFC 277 in Texas.
Brandon Moreno was left with facial injuries after his title fight win over Kai Kara-France[/caption]
And a body kick in round three set up a clinical stoppage win and put gold back around Moreno’s waist.
He was all smiles afterwards despite being left battered and bruised in victory, even needing stitches on his cheek.
The UFC uploaded a picture with the caption: “The face of a champion.”
The win has set Moreno, 28, up with a FOURTH fight against rival Deiveson Figueiredo, 34.
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Figueiredo is the current champion but the interim strap was on the line in Dallas.
And after Moreno won, the pair met in the octagon afterwards to all-but confirm their latest rematch.
They first drew in 2020, with Moreno then winning the rematch and Figueiredo levelling the score in the trilogy, setting up a rubber match.
Moreno said: “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want to fight against Deiveson Figueiredo again.
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“I’m not excited. I’m done with him. But it is what it is. He’s the champion, so I want to fight against him.
“So I promise I just want to finish my business with him and then the next challenger, I’ll be ready for him.”
He added: “I don’t care – we can go wherever. We can go to Brazil.
“The problem is, he said he’d be ready for the winter, for December, and the last pay-per-view of the year is normally in Vegas.
So we’ll see what happens in the future. I just want to fight before the end of the year. I’ve just been waiting for him for a long time.”