UFC champ Brandon Moreno reacts to hostile Brazilian crowd: 'It was funny'

Newly crowned undisputed UFC flyweight world champion Brandon Moreno took in stride the hostile crowd that he had to face after beating local favorite Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283 this past weekend in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Moreno, 21-6 as a professional mixed martial artist, was booed by the crowd and was thrown beer and garbage on his way out of the arena following his third-round technical knockout win over Figueiredo. The Mexican, however, holds no grudge over the experience.

“For me as a Mexican, it's kind of normal. I’m not saying it's correct, I think it’s a horrible thing, but I can see it in soccer, I can see it in lucha libre. I’m not saying it is correct, but I live a little bit more with it like that,” Moreno told The MMA Hour.

“That’s why for me it was funny. I know that can be dangerous, but I love all the staff of the UFC because they took care of me every single moment. All the bodyguards were there taking care of me, so I love those guys.”

The turning point in the fight came when Moreno landed a clean left hook on top followed by a palm from the right hand in round three. What even the commentators initially thought was an eye poke, was eventually deemed a clean punch when the replay was blasted on the big screen.

According to Moreno, the fans may have thought that he fought dirty thus the hostility.

“Maybe because they thought I poked Figueiredo’s eye. Starting from that, I don’t know. I was just happy, laughing, I danced a little bit after the fight, maybe that’s why they started to get mad,” Moreno said.

“I don’t know. I don’t care. I just won. I did everything right. I was very respectful every moment, I tried to do my best to make all the Brazilian fans comfortable with me, so I’m perfect right now. I’m comfortable with that.”

—JMB, GMA Integrated News