After a brief break from MMA, Brandon Moreno returned with a major banger. He delivered a stellar performance at UFC Edmonton, where he battled Amir Albazi.
The bout was the main event of the UFC Edmonton tournament and started slowly before Moreno landed a big right hand. The blow woke Albazi up, and he landed a counter combination. Moreno quickly got his head in the game and landed a calf kick, followed by an uppercut that brought the round to a close.
Moreno came in swinging in round two, but Albazi responded with a perfect takedown,Moreno swiftly got back to his feet and pressed his opponent towards the fence. Albazi was able to recover in the third round and landed a left hook, but Moreno countered with a blow that opened a cut on Albazi’s right eye, but the Iraqi did not back down. Albazi got better moving forward in the rounds, but Moreno was always one step ahead, and the final round ended with a slugfest that left Moreno victorious via unanimous decision.
After his win, Moreno said he would gladly take on the winner of the fight between Alexander Pantoja and Kai Asakura. The fighter believes he is equipped for the fight, but he may still need to have one more fight before he has a title shot.
“I don’t know, hopefully [I fight for the belt next],” Moreno said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I want to be honest with myself, I think, maybe, I have to fight one more time before the title. But I don’t know what the UFC is thinking right now. Maybe they got so impressed with the performance tonight and say, ‘Maybe he can get the title next.’ I know [Brandon] Royval is there. Kai Kara-France is trying to get the opportunity for the title next. So, I don’t know. I’ll be ready for whatever.”
“I can get [a rematch] with Royval,” Moreno said. “I don’t want to fight with Kai again because I fought him twice and I beat him, but if I have to do that [I will]. Tatsuro Taira is there. Kai Asakura, let’s see what happens there against Pantoja. If he loses, that can be the next one.
“I don’t know, let’s see what happens.”
The UFC Edmonton tournament also featured exciting fights, including a second-round submission win by Youssef Zalal over Jack Shore. Fighters like Dustin Stoltzfus, Jasmine Jasudavicius, and Charles Jourdain all earned an extra $50,000 bonuses for their performances.
Main Card
Brandon Moreno def. Amir Albazi via unanimous decision
Erin Blanchfield def. Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision
Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado via split decision
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Ariane da Silva via submission (D’Arce choke) R3
Dustin Stoltzfus def. Marc-Andre Barriault via KO (punches) R1
Mike Malott def. Trevin Giles via unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Aiemann Zahabi def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision
Charles Jourdain def. Victor Henry via submission (guillotine choke) R2
Youssef Zalal def. Jack Shore via submission (arm-triangle choke) R2
Alexandr Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento via unanimous decision
Serhiy Sidey def. Garrett Armfield via split decision
Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision
Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic via split decision
