Brandon Moreno on UFC newcomer Yazmin Jauregui: 'That girl has what it takes to be a champion'
UFC interim flyweight champion Brandon Moreno expects big things from Yazmin Jauregui.
Moreno firmly believes Jauregui (8-0, 0-0 UFC) will have a big impact in the UFC. The 23-year-old undefeated women’s strawweight prospect makes her promotional debut this Saturday when she takes on Iasmin Lucindo at UFC on ESPN 41 in San Diego.
Moreno trained with Jauregui for many years at Entram Gym in Tijuana, Mexico, prior to switching teams and going with James Krause in Kansas City. Even though they were former teammates, Moreno is not one to praise without warrant.
“I don’t say this about many fighters, and I love all my training partners, and I know how hard they work and how far they can go, but I promise you that Yazmin has what it takes to be a champion,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I see it. Like I once said, ‘Maybe not today, maybe not in the near future,’ but I see her as champion.”
Jauregui is coming from Combate Global where she competed six times, picking up four knockout victories. Three of those fights were in one night when she won an eight-woman tournament in August 2021. That’s the last time Jauregui set foot inside the cage.
Although Jauregui already looks like a complete fighter, despite being very early in her career, Moreno hopes the UFC can give her proper time to grow.
“I hope they take her little by little because we know that the female divisions sometimes are not too deep, and two or three wins, and they’re already throwing you to the sharks , nd that’s not what we want with Yazmin,” Moreno said. “Hopefully she can manage her career the most intelligent way possible. And I say the most intelligent possible because look, if the girl wins her fights, what else will she have left to do? If she needs to fight. No. 10 or No. 5 in her third or fourth fight, then there’s no other way. I just hope that she gets an organic process in the organization.
“I’ll say it once again, that girl has what it takes to be a champion.”