UFC loses one of its undisputed Mexican world champions as Alexandre Pantoja beats Brandon Moreno for the flyweight title at UFC 290. The fight took place in the co-main event of the International Fight Week card and it was perhaps the bloodiest war of them all. Interestingly, Moreno had one prior loss to Pantoja ahead of the fight, which came inside Octagon in May 2018. It looks like history repeated itself once more at UFC 290.
However, this time around, Moreno and Pantoja had a much better contest for the flyweight title. Both fighters landed some massive strikes in the bout and it made for an entertaining contest. There were times in the contest when both Pantoja and Moreno looked like they were about to close out the bout. However, both survived and the contest went down to the judges’ cards ultimately.
On top of the world! 👑🇧🇷 #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/4EzDNAxkBc
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2023
Judges Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo both scored the bout for Pantoja, 48-47. Judge Ben Cartlidge had the only scorecard for the defending champ, Brandon Moreno as he scored the fight 49-46. It has garnered some interesting reactions from fans online.
Here are some reactions to the contest
ROBBED WTF NOOOOOO
— robbie 🦅 (@Synskii) July 9, 2023
He doesn’t deserve that Moreno robbed man😔😔😔
— wnso 🛡️🇺🇸 (@Salah23552134) July 9, 2023
Could’ve gone either way. Great fight.
— Tanner Mertlich (@MuscleBusUtah) July 9, 2023
The current judging system needs to change. It’s horrible. 46-49 and a loss is ridiculous.
I’m a huge Moreno fan but I had Pantona winning. What a fight, I can’t wait for the rematch.
— StockChartArt (@CasualtyWar) July 9, 2023
NOT MY CHAMPION. #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/yqFXG8vIaM
— Berk Wrestling (@WrestlingBerk) July 9, 2023
49-46 Moreno?
— Oliveira ˢᶠᶜ (@yuriolisfc) July 9, 2023
WHAT A JOKE
Following his series of fights against Deiveson Figueiredo, many thought Moreno would be set for a long reign in the division. However, Alexandre Pantoja has prevented that from happening. So it will not be surprising to see Moreno engaged in another long series of fights with Pantoja.
Was Brandon Moreno robbed against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290?
According to UFC stats, Brandon Moreno landed 147 significant strikes throughout the 5 rounds in the UFC 290 co-main event out of an attempted 245 strikes. But in total, he landed 167 strikes in total out of an attempted 265 strikes. Pantoja, on the other hand, landed 161 strikes in total with 323 attempted strikes. Out of the 161 strikes total, Pantoja landed 129 significant strikes.
But, where the Brazilian fighter flourished, was on the ground as he secured 6 out of a total of 11 attempted takedowns. On top of that, he had 8:26 minutes of total ground control time. But Moreno, on the other hand, secured 2 out of 4 attempted takedowns and had a control time of 4:01 minutes in total. But, interestingly, none of them were able to secure even a single submission attempt throughout the 25-minute fight.
#ANDNEW Flyweight champion of the world, @PantojaMMA! 👏
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2023
[ B2YB @NewAmsterdam ] pic.twitter.com/VWQmSjoMJ4
While their stats are very close on paper, Pantoja seemingly did more damage to Moreno. Aside from that, Pantoja also had a better performance on the ground. Hence, despite not having the best striking stats, his performance was good enough to convince two of the judges to score the bout in his favor. But the question is, who did you think won the fight? Let us know in the comments down below.
