SUMMARY
- Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will return to the Octagon this weekend.
- Moreno will fight Brandon Royval in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Mexico City.
After the highs and lows of UFC 298, the company is back with another banger of a fight card. Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will take on a top contender, Brandon Royval in the main event of the Fight Night card. While both of them will have an eye on the future and a potential title shot, the bout also has a history behind it as well.
On November 21, 2020, Royval and Moreno came face to face at UFC 255. The bout lasted 4:59 minutes and the referee stopped the bout right before the round ended. While Moreno won the bout via TKO, there was also an asterisk behind it as Royval suffered a brutal shoulder injury during the contest.
Since then, the 31-year-old has won 3 bouts and lost twice and both of the losses came against the current 125lbs champion, Alexandre Pantoja. Currently, Royval occupies the 3rd spot in the flyweight rankings and Moreno is ranked no. 1. So a win will certainly earn Royval a third crack at the champion next. So will be the case for “Assassin Baby” too, who will earn a rematch after losing against Pantoja at UFC 290.
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2: Stats
| Stats | Brandon Moreno | Brandon Royval |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 21 | 15 |
| Losses | 7 | 7 |
| Height | 1.7 m | 1.75 m |
| Division | Flyweight | Flyweight |
| Reach | 177.8 cm | 172.7 cm |
| Age | 30 | 31 |
Moreno vs Royval 2: Fight breakdown
Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno, both are two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. While both of them are more than capable of handling themselves on their feet, it would not be wrong to say that they prefer to win the bouts via their grappling. As per UFC Stats, their last bouts produced 16 and 17 strikes respectively from Moreno and Royal. However, in that particular fight, Moreno landed 2 takedowns and had 2 submission attempts.
While Royval has 8 submission wins in his career, the former undisputed flyweight champion has 11. Moreno lands 1.73 takedowns per 15 minutes with a 45% accuracy and averages 3.80 strikes per minute. He maintains a 56% striking defense and a 64% takedown defense. The stats above prove that Moreno is a complete fighter and it is hard to outmatch him both on the ground and in terms of striking.
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Brandon Royval, on the other hand, only lands 0.43 takedowns per fight minute with an accuracy rate of 66%. He also has a striking accuracy of 43% and lands 3.80 strikes.
Hence, it does seem like both fighters will be equally equipped and neutralize each other’s striking. But, Moreno will clearly have a better chance on the mat. So it will not be surprising to Moreno once again emerge victorious this Saturday.
