PBP UFC Mexico - Moreno vs. Erceg Official PBP Discussion: Sat 3/29 at 4pm ET/1pm PT

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Brandon Moreno rose to the occasion yet again.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder moved forward in his quest to reclaim the 125-pound throne with a five-round unanimous decision over Steve Erceg in the UFC on ESPN 64 headliner on Saturday at CDMX Arena in Mexico City. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 49-46 for Moreno (23-8-2, 11-5-2 UFC), who has posted three straight wins since his controversial Feb. 24 loss to Brandon Royval.

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Former Champion Brandon Moreno Downs Steve Erceg in UFC Mexico Headliner

Brandon Moreno rose to the occasion yet again.
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Erceg (12-4, 3-3 UFC) excelled in spurts, especially with his calling-card jab and sneaky front kicks to the body. However, he could not match Moreno’s aggression. The Fortis MMA star thumped Erceg repeatedly with overhand rights, worked his weapons to all levels and even mixed in strategic takedowns in the fourth and fifth rounds. While it was far from the comprehensive performance for which Moreno has become known, it was enough to get him past the game Aussie.

Meanwhile, Entram Gym standout Manuel Torres disposed of Drew Dober with punches in the first round of their lightweight co-main event. Dober (27-15, 13-11 UFC) checked out 1:45 into Round 1, suffering his third setback in as many outings.


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Torres (16-3, 4-1 UFC) tested the waters with a front kick to the body and a partially blocked head kick. He zapped and dazed Dober with a clean one-two, then made him pay for clinging too long to an attempted single-leg. Torres battered the Elevation Fight Team veteran with no fewer than 15 unanswered hammerfists to the side of the head before referee Mike Beltran decided to wave it off.

The 30-year-old Torres has won seven of his past eight bouts.

Further down the main card, Edgar Chairez rebounded from a Sept. 14 to Joshua Van and dispatched former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder C.J. Vergara with a face crank in the first round of their featured flyweight attraction. Vergara (12-7-1, 3-5 UFC) bowed out 2:30 into Round 1.

Chairez (12-6, 2-2 UFC) set the tone with a probing jab, then flexed his might. He sat down Vergara with a wicked counter left hook, stalked him to the fence and cut loose with follow-up punches. Chairez then maneuvered behind the Pete Spratt protégé, snaked his long arms in place and let his considerable squeeze do the rest. It was a vise from which there was no escape.

Vergara, 33, now finds himself on a three-fight losing streak.

Elsewhere, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Raul Rosas Jr. outgrappled Vince Morales to a unanimous decision in a three-round bantamweight feature. Rosas Jr. (11-1, 5-1) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the cageside judges.

Morales (16-10, 3-8 UFC) had his chances, particularly in the third round. There, he sprawled on attempted takedown and transitioned from a Peruvian necktie to an anaconda choke to a brabo choke. Rosas Jr. was in visible distress but managed to survive and did so again when the scene repeated itself in the waning seconds of the bout. Morales’ inability to finish proved costly and could not erase the efforts his 20-year-old adversary put forth across the first 10 minutes. Rosas Jr. outstruck the Syndicate MMA rep in a few standup exchanges and completed multiple takedowns before seamlessly progressing to the back, at which point he proceeded to pile up copious amounts of control time.

Morales has lost three fights in a row.

Not to be outshined, Bonebreakers MMA prospect David Martinez put away Saimon Oliveira with a sensational volley of strikes in the first round of their bantamweight attraction. Oliveira (18-6, 0-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:38 into Round 1, losing for the third time in as many appearances.

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Martinez (12-1, 1-0 UFC) set the tone with blistering leg kicks and exquisite body-head combinations. The onetime Combate Global champion staggered Oliveira with a counter right hand, flurried with punches and sent him crashing to the canvas with a perfectly timed knee up the middle. A hailstorm of hammerfists followed, prompting the stoppage.

The 26-year-old Martinez has rattled off eight consecutive victories.

Finally, ex-Inka Fighting Championship titleholder Kevin Borjas rode slick boxing skills to a unanimous decision over they hyperaggressive Ronaldo Rodriguez in a three-round flyweight appetizer. All three cageside judges scored it for Borjas (10-3, 1-2 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Rodriguez (17-3, 2-1 UFC), who missed weight for the match by one pound, spent the majority of his time eating punches and wasting energy on high-risk, low-reward offense. Borjas floored him twice with crisp right hands in the first round, seized the reins from there and never relinquished control. He called upon an efficient and effective counter game, lured his opponent into traps and seemed unshakable in the face of constant pressure. Rodriguez scored with leg kicks throughout but too often relied upon an untenable one-strike-at-a-time approach.

The loss snapped Rodriguez’s seven-fight winning streak.

Continue Reading » UFC Mexico Prelims: Jamall Emmers Waylays Gabriel Miranda
 



Manuel Torres didn’t waste time in the UFC Mexico co-main event.


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UFC Mexico Bonuses: Manuel Torres Among Four 'Performance of the Night' Winners

Manuel Torres didn’t waste time in the UFC Mexico co-main event.
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The Entram Gym product secured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round stoppage of Drew Dober in their lightweight showdown. Torres dropped Dober with a one-two and then sealed his victory with about 15 unanswered hammerfists to the side of the head as his opponent clinged to his leg. The official time of the stoppage came 1:45 into Round 1.

Elsewhere, Edgar Chairez pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for a submission of C.J. Vergara in a featured flyweight matchup. Chairez set the stage for the finish by dropping his adversary with a left hook and follow-up blows. From there, he worked his way to the back, locked in a face crank and forced a tapout at the 2:30 mark of the opening period.

Earlier, David Martinez had a debut to remember, scoring a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a finish of Saimon Oliveira in a main-card bantamweight encounter. The Mexico City native dropped his man with a knee and then unloaded with hammerfists on the canvas until the bout was halted 4:38 into the opening round.

Finally, Ateba Abega Gautier garnered the evening’s final $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus by putting away Jose Medina in the card’s featured prelim at middleweight. A perfectly placed knee from Gautier ended his opponent’s night 3:32 into Round 1.
 
Well it was certainly better than last week even with Pyfer/Gastelum getting cancelled.
6/10.
 
Man, Erceg was really having the performance of a lifetime against Pantoja

Not that he did terribly here but Moreno beat him pretty solidly whereas against Pantoja it was one mistake in the fifth round that cost him the fight
 


TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,114
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 727

The Ultimate Fighting Championship waved the Mexican flag through the nation’s capital, bringing a slate of favorite matchups that paid off for the local fans. All but one of the Mexican-based competitors came out ahead at the end of the evening, with no performance more significant than the former flyweight champ prevailing in the main event. UFC on ESPN 64, also known as UFC Mexico, featured nigh-unbreakable 125-pound records falling, a Chihuahua-based destroyer who punched his ticket to a bright future and a new family-based achievement.


Viva Mexico: Seven different athletes competing at this event were born in and represented their home country of Mexico. Of those seven combatants, the only one to lose was Ronaldo Rodriguez, who came up short on the scorecards after missing weight.

Making a Man Out of That Baby: Reestablishing himself as a top-tier flyweight, Brandon Moreno outworked Steve Erceg across five rounds to earn the decision win. “The Assassin Baby” claimed his 11th win as a UFC flyweight, putting him in sole possession of the No. 4 spot for most all-time.

Burned Through the Contender List: The appearance for Moreno was his 18th on the roster. He ties Tim Elliott for the second most outings for any flyweight ever to set foot in the Octagon. Joseph Benavidez has one more on his ledger.

Super Flyweight: Already the recordholder for the most significant strikes landed in divisional history, Moreno added to his lead by putting 89 on Erceg. His 1,220 in total are head-and-shoulders above the next active 125er, with champ Alexandre Pantoja posting 893 on his resume.

Long Distance Runner: For the fourth time in a row, Moreno engaged in a match that went all 25 minutes. The Mexican flyweight has fought beyond the second round in his last nine walks to the cage, with no bout ending any sooner than 2:26 of the third frame.

Out-Dobered Dober: In his last 12 fights, win or lose, Manuel Torres has not fought any later than 4:02 of the first round. “El Loco” battered Drew Dober to force the stoppage in under two minutes, and elevated his finish rate to 94%.

Torres Train-a-Rollin’: Thus far, Torres has authored four first-round stoppages in the UFC, knocking out Frank Camacho, Nikolas Motta and Dober while hitting a rear-naked choke on Chris Duncan. All four of those victories have been accompanied by $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus checks.

Squeeze the Face: Wrangling C.J. Vergara with a face crank, Edgar Chairez kept his 100% stoppage rate intact. He holds twice as many submissions (eight) as he does knockouts (four).

Kid’s Got Moxie: Twenty-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. notched his fifth win inside the Octagon by winning a decision over Vince Morales. The youngster earned his third win on the scorecards, with eight of 11 triumphs coming inside the distance.

Esto Es Sparta: To collect his 10th professional win via knockout, David Martinez laid waste to Saimon Oliveira with a knee and follow-up punches. A whole 83% of the wins for “Black Spartan” are via strikes.

Family Matters: Martinez joins sister Melissa Martinez to become the first brother-sister tandem in promotional history. A plethora of brothers have both fought in the UFC together, but never before has a brother and sister served on the roster together.

A Money Right Hand: Peru’s Kevin Borjas broke a losing streak by outhustling Rodriguez via clear-cut decision. Starting his career with eight finishes, “El Gallo Negro” has since logged his last two wins on the scorecards.

A Regular Bandito: The sole Mexican that came into UFC Mexico and lost, Rodriguez first missed weight by a pound to surrender 20% of his purse to Borjas. Of the seven competitors to miss weight before competing in the Octagon, six of those have been defeated, including Rodriguez.

Not Very Ngannou-esque: Cameroon native Ateba Abega Gautier blew Jose Medina away with a barrage of punches and a knee to make his successful promotional debut. “The Silent Assassin” has seen six of his seven pro wins end by stoppage, all of the knockout variety.

Loopy for Cage Time: Of the 10 decision wins on the ledger of Lupita Godinez, five have come in the UFC’s strawweight division following a win at the hands of the judges over Julia Polastri. This puts her in a tie with several women for the 10th-most in the history of the weight class. “Loopy” has gone the distance in 15 of her 18 pro bouts.

Up and Down: Getting the job done in a little over four minutes, Jamall Emmers came into this event as one of the heaviest favorites on the lineup and knocked out Gabriel Miranda. The 35-year-old has alternated wins and losses in his last nine outings, accounting for his entire UFC career.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 64, Moreno had never won in Mexico as a UFC fighter (17 appearances), Medina (15 fights) had never been knocked out and Hubbard had never dropped back-to-back bouts (24 fights).

His Own Theme Music: In his return to the promotion in 2019, Moreno changed his walkout tune to his own theme song, “El Corrido del Bebe Asesino” by Ariel Macias and Corridos Para Peleadores. His win percentage with the tune sits at .615, higher than average walkout tracks.

For the Very First Time: Several fighters over the years have picked songs from the catalogue of P.O.D., most famously Chris Lytle using “Lights Out” for several appearances. Miranda made a first in his unsuccessful match against Emmers, picking “Alive” for the very first time.

 
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