Brandon Moreno edged out a closely fought fight with Joseph Morales tonight at UFC Fight Night 288 (Aka Noche UFC 4) to win by split-decision.
Round One
Right hand gets through for Morales early. Solid body punch for Moreno.
Fast one-two from Moreno and Morales looks to grab a headlock. Moreno breaks out of that and fires off a nice crisp combo.
Brief exchange in close and Morales land a knee upstairs. Three-piece combo from Moreno.
Clipping right hook from Morales. Moreno trying for a head kick. Morales with a takedown. He’s trying to get on top but Moreno kicks him away and stands, fending off a choke attempt in the process.
Body shot for Moreno and misses with a head kick behind it. Jab for Moreno. Morales with hooks in close.
Nice left hook for Morales. Moreno landing straight punches. Moreno tries for a takedown, but Morales counters with a potential guillotine that deters him and they return to striking range.
Moreno with a head kick off the guard, then lands a low kick. Front kick from Morales. Morales with a nice knee.
Jab for Moreno. Good uppercut from Morales. Punch from Moreno. Big uppercut for Moreno now late in the round.
Round Two
Body kicks from Moreno. He then catches one from Morales to work a takedown, but Morales is back up very quickly.
Body punch from Moreno. He comes close with a knee strike, but Morales lands a counter punch.
Inside calf kick from Moreno. Front kick from Morales strays to the groin and forces a time-out for Moreno.
Moreno touches the target with an uppercut. Moreno able to use head movement to avoid punches and then fend off a takedown.
Jabs from Morales. Spinning back elbow from Morales is just blocked in time by Moreno.
Big exchange of punches in the pocket. A hook lands apiece, but both keep a solid guard to take the steam of that.
Right hand from Moreno. He lands a solid body kick, but Morales grabs it to push him to the mat for a moment.
Morales head kick whistles over the target. Uppercut from Morales. Left hook for Moreno. Both men duck to avoid big punches.
Moreno ducks another punch and lands a hook on the way up. Rolling thunder attempt from Moreno late in the round.
Round Three
Jab for Morales and a clubbing over the top. Morales closes the distance and presses Moreno into the cage.
Moreno with a good switch and is now sprawled on top. They get back up and go to the center of the cage.
Jab for Moreno. Body kick from Morales. Jab again from Moreno. Low kick from him.
Glancing strikes from both men. Moreno with a low kick. Elbow for Moreno as Morales appeared to land a punch.
Stepping jab from Morales. Moreno able to land a trip takedown with just under two minutes to go.
Morales in Moreno’s guard here and having to operate more on control than offense here given how active Morales is off his back.
Decision
This was a really close fight with both men giving as good as they got during their numerous fast-paced exchanges over the course of three rounds. With that in mind it’s a little surprising to see two judges see the fight as a clean-sweep for Moreno, with only one seeing it closer in Morales favor, so ‘The Assassin Baby’ wins by split-decision (30-27 x2, 28-29).
