Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno has blamed his recent slump in form on his mentality, claiming that he can be his own worst enemy.

The 32-year-old Moreno has underperformed in his last two fights, losing to both Tatsuro Taira and Lone’er Kavanagh, but he believes that fixing his mindset can help get him back to winning ways.

“I think it’s more about the perspective of my mentality,” Moreno told UFC.com. “It’s a really common problem in this sport. Sometimes, you are your own worst enemy. I don’t want to put any excuses out there about my past losses, but I’ve been working hard. I’ve been working on myself, working on my mindset and mentality. Obviously, you have to show that in the middle of the fight, and that’s my goal: show all of my improvements this Saturday and how much I’ve advanced over the past few months.”

Moreno has been fighting nothing but high-level opponents for many years now in the Octagon, and while Joseph Morales is coming in on short notice and doesn’t have a big reputation yet, ‘The Assassin Baby’ knows his 14-2 adversary is going to be another tough test.

“Once you come to UFC, you know every single opponent is going to be super tough,” Moreno said. “I understand my position, right? I’m trying to defend my spot in the rankings and in the company, while Joseph Morales is going to be super motivated to take my position.”

“But hey, man, I prepared myself really well for this fight, made some changes to my game and am putting all of my effort into showing it.”