Brandon Moreno can finally say he won a UFC fight in his home country of Mexico.
Despite being one of the country’s most successful MMA names, Moreno had gone winless on home soil, previously attaining two losses and one draw. That was until Saturday, when the former UFC Flyweight Champion had a successful five-round showing against fellow contender Steve Erceg, out-working him on the feet to walk away with a solid scorecard win.
The victory headlined a card from the Arena CDMX in Mexico City this weekend.
A trio of official scores reflecting 49-46 makes it seem as if the fight was a wash for Moreno in front of his supporters. In reality, it was 25 minutes of hard work against Erceg, methodically picking his shots and doing enough to edge-out rounds until he secured an adequate lead, something he didn’t fully attain until the fourth frame had concluded.
Moreno opened the fight with a successful first round, stunning Erceg with an overhand right in the first few minutes.
It became clear early that the headliner was going to be a battle of two different striking styles: The high-volume yet lower-impact gameplan of Erceg, versus the louder and more dramatic punches from Moreno. While Erceg had loads of jabs, leg kicks, and crosses, Moreno provided much more pronounced strikes which looked more devastating when they landed: Wild hooks, overhand punches, and quick combinations.
It was the busy style of Erceg which led the fight through rounds two and three, earning him his sole round on all official scorecards. After a slow-paced third stanza, Moreno took over the fight on the feet.
Moreno settled into the flow of the fight for the final 10 minutes of action, pushing Erceg back with long combinations of shots, including his wailing punches. Erceg continued to answer back and score with his own clean strikes—even out-landing Moreno in all rounds, per official UFC statistics—but his moments were less convincing to the judges.
While it was a hard-fought main event, it was quite clear after five rounds who was more likely to get the scorecard nod. The win keeps Moreno as one of the flyweight division’s best contenders, at the very least causing him to maintain his #2 spot in the division.
Moreno fell out of the division’s title picture a little over a year ago, dropping his belt to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023 and then losing a bout to now top-ranked contender Brandon Royval. Saturday was his second high-profile win since that slight slump, building off a five-round clinic he put together against Amir Albazi in November.
With his spot as one of the best flyweights in the world intact, Moreno hopes that his latest win can earn him a rematch against current champ Pantoja. In a fantasy booking scenario, Moreno wished that he could possibly fight for the title as part of the third-ever Noche UFC card, which was announced for September 13th in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday night.
“Who really knows what I deserve? I don’t know what I deserve,” he said during his post-fight interview. “But man, I really believe I can move the needle and go for the pay-per-view to Guadalajara.”
It’s hard to guess who Pantoja might face next. There are few options for original opponents for him, making it likely that his next challenge will be a repeat, like Moreno or Royval, who he both beat in 2023. Both have rebuilt themselves with a pair of wins since then. Some could reason that Royval’s win over Moreno makes him more qualified. Others might argue that Moreno’s history of fighting at a championship level, being the man who Pantoja dethroned to start his run, might give him a good reason for another chance. In the coming months we’ll likely see who UFC has decided will get the next crack at the 125-pound king.
Eighth-ranked flyweight Erceg has now suffered three straight losses in the UFC, albeit against three different top-five names in the 125-pound division. While he came into the UFC hot, winning three straight fights in less than a year, he has since suffered defeats to Pantoja, Kai Kara-France and Moreno. While it was a trio of tough assignments, three losses in a row is never ideal.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s UFC card in Mexico City.
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 12: Brandon Moreno def. Steve Erceg via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Manuel Torres def. Drew Dober via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:45)
Bout 10: Edgar Chairez def. CJ Vergara via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:30)
Bout 9: Raul Rosas Jr. def. Vince Morales via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: David Martinez def. Saimon Oliveira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:38)
Bout 7: Kevin Borjas def. Ronaldo Rodriguez via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 2:00PM CST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 6: Ateba Gautier def. Jose Medina via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:32)
Bout 5: Melquizael Costa def. Christian Rodriguez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Loopy Godinez def. Julia Polastri via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Rafa Garcia def. Vinc Pichel via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Jamall Emmers def. Gabriel Miranda via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:06)
Bout 1: MarQuel Mederos def. Austin Hubbard via Decision, Split
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