"I have this desire inside of me" - UFC champion Brandon Moreno teases boxing move in interview with Bo Nickal

Brandon Moreno will look to defend his flyweight title for the first time at UFC 290. Ahead of the bout, the two-time flyweight champion revealed that he is the latest in a long line of mixed martial artists that are looking to try their hand in the sport of boxing.

Speaking with middleweight contender Bo Nickal on Betr Combat, 'The Assassin Baby' stated:

"I have this desire inside of me like I want to try to do some boxing in the future. My coach says I can do something nice. I believe in him so obviously. If they knock me out in the first round and in my first boxing match, I would say something like, 'okay, I tried at least'."

Check out Brandon Moreno's comments on trying his hand in boxing below:

While plenty of mixed martial artists have attempted to cross over into boxing, with some even picking up multiple victories, there hasn't been a true success story in the ring. Moreno has displayed his boxing ability in the octagon at times as he has five career knockouts. Only three of those knockouts, however, came from punching. It is unclear if he will look to try his hand at boxing following UFC 290 or if that is something he hopes to do further down the road.

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Brandon Moreno does not believe Alexandre Pantoja has seen the best version of him

Brandon Moreno is set to defend the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290 next weekend. The two fighters have faced off twice in the past, once in an exhibition and once in an official bout, with the 'The Assassin Baby' dropping both fights. Despite this, the flyweight champion remains confident heading into their third clash. Speaking with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Moreno stated:

"I can talk about a lot of different things like the technical part, the mental part, whatever, but the real difference for this fight will be that I'm a better athlete. I'm a better athlete and I'll show that on July 8th."

He continued:

"I said this before and I'm going to say this right now, he never fought against the best Brandon Moreno in that moment when we fought each other, but right now I'm just focused on him. I'm just training for him. Doing the game plan for him. I'm ready man."

Check out Brandon Moreno's comments on Alexandre Pantoja below:

Moreno first clashed with Pantoja on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions, where he was defeated via submission. They met again at UFC Fight Night 129, with the No.2-ranked flyweight winning via unanimous decision.