Brandon Moreno outstrikes Steve Erceg, requires Noche UFC spot after profitable UFC Mexico foremost occasion

Brandon Moreno lastly bought the job completed in entrance of his dwelling crowd as the previous flyweight champion showcased superior putting throughout 5 rounds to beat Steve Erceg in Saturday’s UFC Mexico foremost occasion.

Whereas it wasn’t a very lopsided efficiency, Moreno’s skill to outwork and outstrike Erceg gave him the benefit on the scorecards as he repeatedly pissed off the Australian. With the stress on after going 0-2-1 in his first three appearances in Mexico Metropolis since becoming a member of the UFC roster, Moreno left little question he deserved to go away along with his hand raised this time.

The ultimate scorecards all learn 49-46 with Moreno getting the unanimous determination win as he picks up his second straight victory following an prolonged break following back-to-back losses. With this newest win, Moreno is already desirous about what comes subsequent and the opponent doesn’t appear to matter as a lot as incomes a spot on the UFC 320 card, which lands again in Mexico for the subsequent Noche UFC card on Sept. 13.

“I’ve gone by way of a lot to be right here. I understand how laborious it’s for thus lots of you to get a ticket to be right here. That is all for you,” Moreno shouted to the viewers.

“Hunter [Campbell], who actually is aware of what I deserve? I don’t know what I deserve. However I actually consider I can transfer the needle and let’s go for the pay-per-view in Guadalajara. Let’s f*cking go. Let’s f*cking do it!”

The combat wasn’t essentially Moreno’s cleanest efficiency, however he nonetheless did every thing essential to win whereas Erceg would possibly look again at this one with some regrets when he realizes just a few errors prevented him from getting the job completed.

“I believed I landed fairly properly however clearly it wasn’t sufficient,” Erceg mentioned. “I went 5 rounds, I’ll preserve getting higher. I’ll get again.”

In what was nearly solely a putting contest for 25 minutes, Moreno was clearly gunning for the knockout, though he scored with quite a lot of punches and totally different combos. Moreno tagged Erceg laborious within the opening spherical, however the one-time title challenger recovered properly so he may proceed.

Whereas he was taking extra punches than he was doling out, Erceg was nonetheless hanging robust with some slick straight punches and well-timed uppercuts every time Moreno was diving ahead on him. Erceg was additionally in search of a straight kick proper up the center to maintain Moreno at distance.

Moreno stayed in pursuit and consistently appeared to attach with energy punches, however he wasn’t placing many combos collectively. Nonetheless, Moreno threw with a lot velocity that Erceg was struggling to remain out of the best way of his largest punches.

Erceg appeared to have a bead on plenty of Moreno’s offense, however he couldn’t arrange any counters to show the tables. Finally, Moreno closed the gap and appeared for the takedown as he continued to just do sufficient to remain forward on the scorecards.

With time ticking away till the ultimate horn, Moreno stored flicking out a left jab after which following with the identical overhand proper that paid dividends for him all evening. Even when he didn’t land with it, Moreno’s energy clearly stored Erceg on a backfoot and unwilling to take too many possibilities.

Moreno additionally clipped Erceg with a late head kick that introduced the group to its ft, however finally the combat stalled out as soon as the fighters crashed all the way down to the ground collectively. Nonetheless, Moreno’s workrate was relentless and Erceg struggled to maintain up with him and that made the distinction within the determination.

As a former champion with an enormous fan base in Mexico, it’s straightforward to consider Moreno’s want goes to be granted and he’ll get a spot at UFC 320 in September. The one query now’s who Moreno faces, though there’s no scarcity of high flyweights obtainable for what needs to be a marquee spot on a pay-per-view card.