4. Brandon Moreno
Moreno comes in fourth on this list, an impressive accomplishment, but also the lowest placement of any UFC flyweight champion—I ranked him third. A fantastic grappler who possesses the best, most technical boxing MMA has ever seen, coupled with limitless cardio, heart and a titanium chin, he is a brutal opponent for anyone to face. Beginning his career at only 17 years old, Moreno suffered three early losses before ripping off 11 straight wins, including a domination of Ryan Benoit that was bizarrely scored a split decision, and submissions of top grapplers Louis Smolka and Dustin Ortiz. Moreno would run into trouble when he stepped up in competition, though, dropping decisions to elite contenders Sergio Pettis, whom we have seen triumphing over many fighters on this list, and Alexandre Pantoja. Inexplicably demoted to Legacy Fighting Alliance, Moreno obliterated Olympic wrestler Maikel Perez, stopping him in the fourth round, then returned to the UFC.
His first fight after returning was an odd one, as virtually everyone and their mother had Moreno beating Askar Askarov, yet it was ruled a draw. After that he scored three big wins, clearly defeating Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga, and stopping Brandon Royval at the end of the first round. This got him a title shot against the unstoppable destroyer Deiveson Figueiredo. In one of the greatest fights in MMA history, the big underdog Moreno withstood a hellacious barrage in the early rounds to take over late, with the fight declared a draw. Moreno would not be denied in the rematch though, choking out Figueiredo, himself a fantastic grappler, and garnering the crown. Alas, the Brazilian was not defeated for good and in their third straight fight, he improved his cardio and regained his throne, edging out Moreno 48-47 across all three scorecards. Moreno recovered with a spectacular knockout of Kai Kara-France in their rematch and is now scheduled to fight Figueiredo for a fourth time, an unprecedented occurrence in the UFC, let alone within a mere 25-month span. Needless to say, with Moreno only about to turn 29 this December and a huge fight on the horizon, he has plenty of opportunity to move up this list in the near future.
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