UFC 271's Marcelo Rojo inspired by Brandon Moreno's success: 'He made us believe'
HOUSTON – Brandon Moreno’s success has given Marcelo Rojo hope.
A teammate and main training partner of Moreno’s, Rojo was in “The Assassin Baby’s” corner when he became the first Mexico-born UFC champion last June.
Rojo (16-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will look to notch his first octagon win when he meets Kyler Phillips (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 271 main card, a big spot for the 33-year-old. Having gone through a long road to get to the UFC, seeing Moreno fall and rise back up to reach the top has motivated Rojo.
“We come up when he won the title because I call it the ‘Brandon Moreno effect,'” Rojo said at Wednesday’s media day. “Because actually he made us believe. He made us believe that we can do this, we can be among the greatest fighters in the world. We’ve been trying, we’ve been training, we’ve been here for a lot of time.
“Man, it cost me 16 years of my life to be in the UFC, so that’s what I’m telling you. I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep going, keep going, keep going, and Brandon Moreno showed all the Latin American fighters that we can do it.”
Proudly representing Argentina, Rojo hopes to achieve for his country what Moreno did for Mexico.
“Argentina, my city, we got great fighters,” Rojo said. “I’m representing a country that always supported one sport: football. Argentina is all soccer, soccer, soccer, and people love that, but now the sports are growing, and we got a few fighters in the UFC, and people really love them and show us the support, so I’m gonna give them the win for that. …
“I’m working hard towards it, and I’m gonna fulfill that objective (UFC champion) in my life, and I’m gonna make Argentina proud of me.”
UFC 271 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center. The pay-per-view main card streams on ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
To see the full interview with Rojo, check out the video above.