Among the roster of champions that graced the eight walls of the UFC’s Octagon, few have had a more storied rise than ‘The Assassin Baby”, Brandon Moreno. From being picked as the last seed on The Ultimate Fighter 24 and being eliminated in the first round that season, to becoming a two-time flyweight champion in the UFC, Moreno has weathered storm after storm.

Moreno returns at UFC 323 with a chance to climb back into the flyweight title picture as he takes on Tatsuro Taira. But what exactly is his heritage? And where do questions about Aztec roots or traditional symbolism come from? Let’s break down the background behind one of MMA’s most beloved figures!

Where is Brandon Moreno from?

The former flyweight champion was born on 7 December 1993 in Tijuana, Mexico. He was born to a middle-class family to hard-working parents. With his natural talent and passion for the sport, he started training in BJJ at a young age, and his aptitude propelled him only further.

He started his MMA career as a professional in Mexico and pays homage to the country for every fight by walking out of the tunnel with a Mexican flag. After all, he started to learn martial arts owing to a Mexican norm. While recalling his MMA journey, he stated, “Initially, I started with mixed martial arts. In Mexico, it’s normal to start a career in boxing first.”

But questions about Brandon Moreno’s roots don’t stop at nationality. Many fans wonder how deep his heritage goes, specifically, whether he has Aztec ancestry.

Is Brandon Moreno Aztec?

‘The Assassin Baby’ hasn’t really revealed anything regarding his religious beliefs. However, prior to his battle against Amir Albazi at UFC Edmonton, he displayed his affinity towards the Aztec Gods. His trunks for the event were colored red with an image of Quetzalcoatl intertwined in the design.

Happy with the first looks of the trunks in a video, Moreno said, “Let’s go! Gentlemen, for those who don’t know, Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec god of light, of wisdom, fertility too. [Laughs]. I have three daughters. We know what that means…”

Now, let’s shift our focus to ‘The Assassin Baby’s family.

 More about Moreno’s early life & background

The former two-time UFC champion was born to Alfredo Moreno and Cecilia Carrillo. As we’ve mentioned earlier, life was mellow for Brandon because his family had enough to afford his martial arts training, which he started when he was 12 years old. However, ‘The Assassin Baby’s mother was initially apprehensive about fighting, believing that it was just a waste of time, a way to distract Moreno’s mind from what his mother thought was important – education.

“At first, I thought [MMA] was a distraction for him, a hobby. I always wanted him to study, to go to college. It was very important for me that he do it so he could have a good life,” Brandon Moreno’s mother told ESPN.

Well, she was just looking out for her son, but when she witnessed the hours he put in training and the blood and sweat he poured in, her mentality eventually changed. Also, Brandon Moreno had promised his mother that whatever he does in life, he seeks to be the best, and looking at how his UFC career has panned out, it’s certain that he achieved that goal in more ways than one. And as he prepares to face Tatsuro Taira at UFC 323, the world will once again see the Mexican flag, the fire, and the resilience that define ‘The Assassin Baby.’