Brandon Moreno outpoints Steve Erceg at UFC Fight Night
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Brandon Moreno celebrating after winning his fight against Steve Erceg at UFC Fight Night at Arena CDMX on March 28.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MEXICO CITY – Former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno erased a stigma from his last Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Mexico outing, winning a unanimous decision against Steve Erceg in a flyweight title eliminator bout in the UFC Fight Night main event on March 28.
He swept the cards 49-46, 49-46, 49-46 over the former flyweight title challenger in Mexico City.
Although the fight was closely competitive, Moreno won all but one round – the third – on all three cards as Moreno (23-8-2 MMA, 11-4-2 UFC) kept the fight standing and made the Australia-born Erceg come to him the entire fight.
Despite Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) hanging in the pocket, it was not enough to overcome the home crowd and spring the upset.
Moreno called out UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell regarding guidance for his next fight.
Although Moreno did not name a would-be opponent explicitly, he did ask to be part of UFC 320, scheduled for Sept 13 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“Who really knows what I deserve? But I really believe I can move the needle and bring that pay-per-view to Guadalajara. Let’s do it,” Moreno said after the fight.
Erceg has dropped three in a row after a rapid UFC start, going back to the drawing board again.
“I thought I landed pretty well, but obviously, it wasn’t enough,” he said.
“He had more volume. We went five rounds. I’ll keep getting better and I’ll be back.”
Manuel Torres overwhelmed 12-year UFC veteran Drew Dober to secure a first-round TKO in the night’s co-main event, where Dober took at least 16 unanswered shots to the side of the head before the referee stopped the fight.
Torres (16-3) is back in the win column for the first time in over a year, whereas Dober (27-15) has lost four of his last five dating to May 2023.
Flyweight Edgar Chairez needed one punch to pounce on C.J. Vergara to set up an eventual face crank submission victory at two minutes and 30 seconds of round 1. Chairez (12-6) finally got off the snide after a bumpy start to his UFC career, winning two of his last three bouts to get to .500 in the promotion. Vergara (12-7-1) had his losing streak extended to three, going nearly two years without a promotional win.
Raul Rosas Jr survived a late scare from Vince Morales to fend off a third-round D’arce choke submission and win a unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Rosas Jr (11-1) ignited his hometown crowd to earn his fifth win over his last six appearances, using his crisp boxing to frustrate Morales (16-10), who had not earned a win in MMA since August 2024 before being re-signed to the promotion shortly after. It was Morales’ third straight loss.
Dana White Contender Series alumni David Martinez emphatically won on his UFC debut, needing just 4min 36sec of the opening round to earn a TKO win against Saimon Oliveira at bantamweight. Martinez (12-1) has won eight in a row since losing his first fight nearly four years ago. Meanwhile, Oliveira (18-6) is still searching for his first UFC victory.
The UFC Fight Night main card got under way with flyweight prospect Kevin Borjas earning a decision win against Ronaldo Rodriguez, taking the cards 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Borjas (10-3) earned his first UFC win after dropping his initial two outings, while Rodriguez (17-3) saw a seven-fight winning streak halted. REUTERS
