The UFC announced at the weekend that their annual Noche UFC event to celebrate Mexican independence day will this year take place at UFC 320 in Guadalajara, Mexico on September 13th, and Brandon Moreno believes he has the perfect fight to headline the show.
Fresh off his unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC On ESPN 64 in Mexico City this past weekend, Moreno suggested that a fourth fight with current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is the match-up to make.
“That’s the goal for sure in Guadalajara,” Moreno said at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference when asked about a title fight against Pantoja. “I think it’s perfect. Even for the UFC, for the promotion. If they want to get a pay-per-view event in Noche UFC in September in Guadalajara, I think I’m the right choice.”
With back-to-back wins under his belt, the former flyweight champion is in the No.2 contender spot, so it’s understandable that he’d be eyeing this opportunity to win back the belt.
However, the catch is that he has lost all three of his previous fights against Pantoja, having been submitted by him in their first encounter during Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, and then lost by unanimous decision in the rematch in the UFC in 2018, and again by split-decision in their trilogy clash last year.
“I feel today I have enough argument to raise my hand and say I can be the main event in the pay-per-view in Guadalajara in September,” Moreno said.
“Let’s see what happens. I saw [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter [Campbell] and he looked very happy with the people, with the crowd. That’s the thing, who knows how much I move the needle? Maybe not too much. Flyweights, always with the same problem, that’s crazy. But I really believe every single time I step in the octagon, the people goes crazy. That’s a fact. Let’s see what happens.”
Moreno has certainly proven that he’s a draw in his native Mexico as this past weekend’s show drew 19,731 fans, with the $2.35 million gate being the highest-grossing UFC event in the country to date and in the Arena CDMX’s history.
There’s still over 6 months to go until the 2025 instalment of Noche UFC though, and it remains to be seen if the UFC brass has other plans for the current divisional kingpin Pantoja.
