Alexandre Pantoja wins flyweight championship, improves to 3-0 against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, July 8, 2023, for International Fight Week, where UFC 290 goes down live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Headlining the event is a featherweight title unification bout between undisputed champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) and interim champion Yair Rodriguez (15-3).
Co-headlining the event was also a title bout, this one a trilogy coming at 125 lbs between UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-7-2) and no. 2 ranked former RFA flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (26-5).
The first time these two met was on the set of The Ultimate Fighter 24, where Pantoja picked up the second-round rear naked choke finish; Pantoja to this day remains the only ever finish Moreno.
That was in 2016.
Their rematch went down a year-and-a-half later in 2018, Pantoja defeating the 24-year-old Moreno via unanimous decision this time around. Now five years later we got to see it go down once again.
Moreno came into the bout on a two-fight streak showcasing victories over no. 5 ranked Kai Kara-France (TKO) and no. 1 ranked former champion Deiveson Figueiredo (TKO) where he reclaimed the title.
Pantoja on the other hand came in on a three-fight streak with wins over the likes of no. 9 ranked Manel Kape (UD), no. 4 ranked Brandon Royval (rear naked choke), and no. 7 ranked Alex Perez (neck crank).
Continue reading to see how this epic flyweight championship affair went down:
Official Result: Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (46-49, 48-47, 48-47)
Moreno has Pantoja pressed into the fence for the first 90 or so seconds of the bout, before they separate and Moreno lands a crisp combination. Pantoja remains unfazed however and lands a nasty left hook of his own that floored Moreno.
Pantoja beats Moreno up from top position until Moreno gets up. The challenger continues to box the champion up badly until the end of the opening round.
Moreno is able to find the range with his jab in the second and begins to even the score. He takes Pantoja’s back in a scramble and spends some time in his guard once he gets out, before getting back to his striking attack on the feet.
Pantoja takes Moreno’s back at the beginning of the third, though Moreno defends well and eventually reverses the position. It turns into a bit of a scramble fest from here, each man spending some time in top position.
Pantoja racks up some control time in the fourth round as well, the first round four of his career in fact.
Moreno pieces together good combinations in the fifth and final round, though Pantoja takes him down and takes his back in the final two minutes of the bout.
A lot of people predicted Alexandre Pantoja could become UFC champion one day, and finally six and a half years following his UFC debut he claims the flyweight championship of the world. Pantoja is now 3-0 against Brandon Moreno, which is just remarkable when you think about it. For instance, the last champion Deiveson Figueiredo is 1-2-1 against him.
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