Brandon Moreno Set to Face His Old Rival Alexandre Pantoja Second Time in a Title Defence Bout at UFC 290

The first half of 2023 came up with exciting matchups for every UFC fan. At the moment, yet another unexpected but interesting matchup has been made. The current UFC flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, will fight against his old rival Alexandre Pantoja on 8th July 2023. The two will lock horns at UFC 290, which will be held at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight is a great opportunity for Moreno to avenge his last two losses against Pantoja. 

Pantoja won two matches against ‘The Assassin Baby’ before he became the UFC champion. Moreno’s record currently stands at 21 victories and six losses, while ‘The Cannibal’ has a record of 25 victories and 5 losses. When the stats of both fighters are considered, it is difficult to predict who would win the bout. The Mexican fighter currently stands at the peak of his career as now he is the two-time reigning UFC flyweight champion.

Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja for UFC 290

As per the report of Freak MMA, it was UFC’s chief business offer, Hunter Campbell, who confirmed the bout between Moreno and Pantoja on Wednesday. The two old rivals will come face to face in the co-main event. The main event will be between the current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and Yair Rodriguez. 

The very first victory of ‘The Cannibal’ against ‘The Assasin Baby’ was in an exhibition on The Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2016. He won the bout via submission. The second victory of Pantoja against Moreno was in 2018, at a professional fight where he won via unanimous decision.

The third bout between the old rivals

On January 21, Moreno faced Deiveson Figueiredo for the fourth time and regained his UFC flyweight title. ‘The Assassin Baby’ won the bout via TKO in round three. Moreover, he created history by winning the title and becoming the first Mexican-born UFC champion. He happens to have only a single loss in his past 10 fights. The single loss he faced was against Figueiredo. On the other hand, ‘The Cannibal’ is currently on a three-fight winning streak. His last fight was against Alex Perez. He won the bout within one minute and thirty-one seconds into the very first round via submission.

READ MORE: Brandon Moreno Eyes a Violent End to ‘The Last Dance’ With Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283

Now, the fans need to hold their breath to find out what the outcome of the third bout between Pantoja and Moreno will be.

Who do you think will win the fight? Comment with your answers below.

WATCH THIS STORY: Five Times Brandon Moreno Obliterated His Opponent Inside The Octagon