Video: Beaming Brandon Moreno 'still can't believe' he did what he did in UFC-debut win

PORTLAND, Ore. – After making a UFC debut on short notice, battling those ever-present octagon jitters and actually upsetting a ranked opponent, Brandon Moreno was still trying to make sense of it all.

At Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 96 event, Moreno (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) kicked off the FS1-televised main card at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., where he took on vet Louis Smolka (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

Smolka, who’s No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings (and No. 9 on the UFC’s official list), was more than a 5-1 favorite in the bout. In fact, the card featured no bigger underdog than Moreno, who was also the 16th seed in the 16-man tournament field on the current 24th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he was eliminated in the first round.

In other words, Moreno was supposed to lose this fight. Expectations were minimal for a fighter who took the bout on about nine days’ notice. Yet, the 22-year-old Mexican fighter scored a guillotine-choke stoppage in just two minutes and 23 seconds – despite admittedly being a bit overwhelmed by entering the octagon, officially, for the first time.

“I can only say this is a magical experience that I still can’t believe I just went through,” he told MMAjunkie after the fight. “I was very, very surprised it ended like it ended because my strategy and my expectations were to get into a war with him.

“I was ready for a three-round war, and my strategy was to circle the cage and be patient and look for that takedown. The ground is my strength. Everything went to plan, and I was imposing my will. So yeah, I can say I was surprised.”

Moreno, who earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts, admitted he was “very, very nervous – and I had every reason to be nervous” for the fight. He had no real fight camp, he got the call on short notice, and he spent crucial time completing the visa process and paperwork rather than actually preparing for the fight.

But, “I have sacrificed so much and been through so much that this is where life is getting even with me,” he said with a smile.

His joy could be seen immediately after the fight (via Twitter):

Check out the full interview above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Events section of the site.