Brandon Moreno has made history in his country and in the UFC. He was the first Mexican fighter to be proclaimed champion of the company (he did it at flyweight, a belt he maintains).. Saturday morning, will defend the title against the Brazilian Alexander Pantoja, one of the few rivals who has been able to beat the Mexican. It will be the star fight of UFC 290, which will have two title fights at stake, the fight between Moreno and Pantoja, and the featherweight unification between Alexander Volkanovski and his compatriot Yair Rodríguez.
Brandon Moreno was the first Mexican to conquer the UFC. He did it in June 2021 by defeating Deiveson Figueiredo via submission. He took the flyweight belt, and lost it a year later to the same opponent, this time by unanimous decision. In January of this year, he got back what was his. Moreno prevailed by TKO in the third round over Figueiredo. He closed his right eye and the referee did not let him go in the fourth round. He consolidated his reign and emerged victorious from the saga with the Brazilian.
With that first win, Brandon Moreno made company history. In February of this year, his compatriot Yair Rodriguez became the interim featherweight champion by defeating Josh Emmett via second-round submission. In addition, both fighters will share a billboard this weekend, since Yair will unify the division belts with Alexander Volkanovski, the monarch, in the stellar fight of the night. In March, Alexa Grasso joined the list of Mexican champions (the first woman) after submitting flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in the fourth round.
Brandon Moreno and Alexander Pantoja with old acquaintances. The Brazilian has been one of the few fighters who has managed to defeat the Mexican. In 2018, he defeated her by unanimous decision in a bout on the undercard of a UFC Fight Night. In addition, he had previously beaten him in an episode of the UFC reality show, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Pantoja is coming off a three-fight win streak, the last two by submission. But it’s been a long time since that defeat, and Moreno believes that he has matured a lot as a fighter and has shown the entire world that he is a champion. He will have to reaffirm it at dawn from Saturday to Sunday in Las Vegas.