The Assasin Baby
Brandon Moreno returns to the UFC this weekend at UFC Fight Night 159 in Mexico City. Moreno previously went 3-2 in the UFC with wins over Louis Smolka, Ryan Benoit and Dustin Ortiz. Following two losses on the bounce, the UFC cut Moreno. His first UFC loss came to Sergio Pettis in a main event slot in Mexico City in August 2017. His second loss was in a rematch from TUF 24 against Alexandre Pantoja. Both of these losses came at a time where the UFC’s flyweight division was up in the air. The future of the division was very unclear and a number of fighters were cut, including Brandon Moreno.
Time Away and UFC Return
Brandon Moreno returned to competitive action after over a year out. This time it was for LFA and Moreno was put straight into a title fight at LFA 69. He faced 6-1, 2008 Olympic wrestler, Maikel Pérez. Moreno’s MMA experience showed and he landed an impressive fourth-round TKO to capture the LFA flyweight title.
Despite previously ‘not seeing a future‘ in the 125lbs division, Brandon Moreno re-signed with the UFC as a flyweight. He will welcome undefeated Russian prospect Askar Askarov at UFC Fight Night 159. At 10-0, Askarov is the former ACB flyweight champion and has finished all 10 of his victories inside the cage. This fight is a fan favourite fight as in a combined 25 wins, 22 have come via finish.
Other Fights on the Card
Joining Brandon Moreno and Askar Askarov on the card are a number of competitive fights.
- The main event sees Yair Rodriguez return following his emphatic knockout of Chan Sung Jung. Rodriguez will face the hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens.
- Former strawweight champion Carla Esparza faces upcoming prospect Alexa Grosso in the co-main in Mexico City.
- Exciting bantamweight Irene Aldana returns following her split decision loss at UFC on ESPN 4. Her opponent in Mexico City will be promotional newcomer Vanessa Melo, who takes the fight on short notice.
- Sijara Eubanks looks to get back to winning ways as she takes on former title challenger Bethe Correia.
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