Brandon Moreno to Fight Amir Albazi in UFC Fight Night in Mexico City Next February

Brandon Moreno is preparing for a battle south of the border…

The 30-year-old Mexican mixed martial artist and former UFC flyweight champion will fight Amir Albazi in a flyweight contender bout on February 24 in Mexico City, Moreno has confirmed.

Brandon MorenoThe five-round bout will serve as the co-main event on the UFC Fight Night card, which will be the promotion’s first trip to Mexico since 2019.

ESPN has Moreno ranked No. 2 in the world at flyweight and Albazi at No. 4.

Moreno (21-7-2) is a former two-time UFC flyweight champion and the first-ever Mexican-born UFC champ. The Tijuana native dropped the title in a close split decision to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290 in July. Moreno was on a two-fight winning streak before the loss to Pantoja.

Moreno will also act as the official backup for the UFC 296 co-main event on December 16 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN, confirming news first reported by Eurosport Netherland.

Pantoja will defend the UFC flyweight title against Brandon Royval, and if either competitor is forced to withdraw, then Moreno will step in and compete.

Albazi (17-1) has won six in a row, most recently a split decision win over Kai Kara-France in June. The Iraq native is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC. Albazi, 30, previously won titles in Ultimate Challenge MMA and FightStar Championship.

Moreno has not fought in his home country since becoming the first Mexican-born UFC champion in 2021.

“I want to go there and win and celebrate with my people and [wave] the Mexican flag,” Moreno told ESPN. “It’s something special for me. I’m Mexican. At the end of the day, I’m working for that. I want to give more opportunities to the Mexican fighters.”

Deiveson Figueiredo to Fight Brandon Moreno in First-Ever UFC “Quadrilogy” Fight

Deiveson Figueiredo is making history while going on the defense…

The 34-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist will take part in the first-ever quadrilogy fight in UFC history.

Deiveson FigueiredoFigueiredo will defend his flyweight belt against former champion and current interim champ Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 on January 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Figueiredo posted about the matchup Monday night on Instagram. Both bout agreements have been signed, according to ESPN sources.

This will be the fourth meeting between the top two 125-pound fighters in the world.

Figueiredo and Moreno battled to a draw at UFC 256 in December 2020. Then in the rematch, Moreno became the first Mexican-born fighter to win a UFC title, defeating Figueiredo via third-round submission at UFC 263 in June 2021. Figueiredo got revenge at UFC 270 last January, beating Moreno in a close unanimous decision to regain the title.

It’s not yet known whether Figueiredo vs. Moreno will be the main event of UFC 283. The UFC is weighing several other headlining options for its return to Brazil, a key country for the promotion.

This will be the UFC’s first trip back to Brazil since March 2020, and the first time fans will be in attendance for a Brazil UFC event since November 2019.

ESPN has Figueiredo tied for ninth on its MMA pound-for-pound list. At flyweight, Figueiredo and Moreno are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Figueiredo (21-2-1) has just one loss in his past eight fights, coming against Moreno. The “God of War” owns a 10-2-1 UFC record and has not fought since taking the title back from Moreno earlier this year. Figueiredo is tied for the most finishes in division history with Demetrious Johnson (7).

Moreno (20-6-2) has only one loss in his past nine fights, coming against Figueiredo. The “Assassin Baby” won the interim flyweight belt by beating Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 in July via third-round TKO. Moreno, 28, is a former LFA flyweight champion.

Brandon Moreno Defeats Kai Kara-France to Claim UFC’s Interim 125-Pound Title

Brandon Moreno is a UFC champion once again…

The 28-year-old Mexican professional mixed martial artist (20-6-2) claimed the interim 125-pound title in thrilling fashion on Saturday, as he finished Kai Kara-France in the third round with a nasty left body kick followed by ground and pound. The TKO came at 4 minutes, 34 seconds.

Brandon MorenoThe title fight co-headlined UFC 277 from inside American Airlines Arena. Figueiredo, the defending unified champion and a longtime rival of Moreno’s, was in attendance cageside.

UFC originally wanted Figueiredo to defend his title against Moreno this summer, but Figueiredo was unavailable due to injury. The Brazilian champion entered the Octagon after Moreno’s win and asked to do it in Brazil.

“This guy right here, tonight is his night and he is the champion,” Figueiredo said through an interpreter. “I have a lot of respect for him. … I want to take this fight home to Brazil.”

Brandon Moreno

Moreno, of Tijuana, quickly accepted the invitation. He also apologized to Figueiredo for any bad blood between them in the past. The two have had a heated rivalry, mostly from Figueiredo’s side, since 2020. Moreno challenged Figueiredo for the belt in December 2020 and fought him to a majority draw. He then beat Figueiredo by submission in an immediate rematch before losing a controversial decision in their third fight in January.

“I don’t hate you. I don’t feel nothing against you. I forgive you,” Moreno told Figueiredo. “Please forgive me if I did something bad against you. I want to fight in December.”

Saturday’s fight was Moreno’s first since he left his original training camp in Mexico and joined forces with veteran MMA coach James Krause in Missouri. It proved to be one of the most impressive performances of his career. He already held a prior decision win over Kara-France (24-10) from 2019, and the rematch was similar in that Moreno simply had more tools than the challenger from New Zealand.

He attacked Kara-France with leg kicks, jabs and right hands. He looked for the takedown when the opportunity came but didn’t force it.

However, Kara-France, 29, was certainly competitive until the finish. He relied mostly on leg kicks as his primary offense and had success with it. Moreno’s lead leg was very red from kicks early on. In the third round, Kara-France did his best work after he caught a Moreno kick and dumped him to the floor. He landed a hard elbow from top position that opened a cut under Moreno’s right eye.

Just when it appeared Kara-France had seized momentum, however, Moreno caught him with a spinning back fist and then the body kick that put him down. Kara-France immediately rolled over and covered up, which brought in a quick stoppage from referee Herb Dean, as Moreno swarmed on him with hammerfists.

Moreno, who was cut from UFC in 2018, now holds a 4-1-2 record since re-signing in 2019.

Brandon Moreno to Fight Kai Kara-France for UFC’s Interim Flyweight Title Fight

Brandon Moreno is heading back to the Octagon in July…

UFC is moving forward with an interim flyweight title fight between the Mexican mixed martial artist – the first Mexican-born UFC champion – and Kai Kara-France on July 30, according to ESPN.

Brandon MorenoMoreno and Kara-France will meet for the interim belt at UFC 277 at a location to be announced.

It will mark the second time Moreno and Kara-France square off. Moreno took a unanimous decision in their first fight in December 2019.

Deiveson Figueiredo (21-2-1) will retain his title, but is not available to defend against the next No. 1 contender. The Brazilian has not made a public statement on the creation of an interim belt. Previously, he had expressed a desire to fight Kara-France.

Moreno (19-6-2) is coming off three consecutive title bouts against Figueiredo. The two fought to a draw in late 2020 and met in an immediate rematch in June 2021. Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the third round of that fight to claim the 125-pound title, but surrendered it back via unanimous decision in a trilogy bout in January.

Kara-France (24-9), of New Zealand, has surged into contention behind a 4-1 record in his past five bouts. He recorded back-to-back first-round finishes against top-tier opponents in Rogerio Bontorin and Cody Garbrandt in 2021. He also defeated Askar Askarov in March.