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Brandon Moreno became the new UFC flyweight champion after defeating Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283 in the promotion's first-ever tetralogy bout. 'The Assassin Baby' does not have his next fight scheduled as yet. However, there is one flyweight that makes the most sense for his first title defense of his second reign as champion.
Moreno has a professional mixed martial arts record of 21-6-2. However, just three of his losses have come in the UFC. One of those losses was to Figueiredo, who he has faced four times already, while another came against Sergio Pettis, who is now the Bellator bantamweight champion.
The third fighter to defeat Moreno in the UFC octagon is Alexandre Pantoja, who is currently the No.2-ranked flyweight. While 'The Cannibal' likely deserves a fight based off of the rankings and his three-fight win streak alone, a title fight between the two would have a compelling backstory.
Alexandre Pantoja's unanimous decision victory over Brandon Moreno led to the latter being released from the UFC in 2018. The current flyweight champion was forced to join Legacy Fighting Alliance before returning to the UFC. Furthermore, that was not the No.2-ranked flyweight's only victory over the champion as he was able to pick up a second-round submission against Moreno on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions.
Pantoja and Moreno reportedly had a run-in following UFC 283, where the former served as the alternate. The latter shared that his potential opponent initially congratulated him before adding:
"[Pantoja] started to ask me like, ‘When is our fight? In two months? Three months? Tell me right now.' Like, I don’t know to be honest. Then he started to look a little bit aggressive to be honest but my only point was let me enjoy it today."
Watch Brandon Moreno's full comments on Alexandre Pantoja below:
Brandon Moreno looking to face Alexandre Pantoja in Mexico City
With Brandon Moreno's tetralogy with Deiveson Figueiredo behind him, the flyweight champion appears likely to face Alexander Pantoja next. Following the UFC's announcement that a Performance Institute will open in Mexico City, 'The Assassin Baby' shared that he would like the fight to take place in his home country, if possible, stating:
"If UFC gives me the perfect excuse to wait until September for a pay-per-view in Mexico City, the launch of the Performance Institute, which I think this year gets launched, I think that’s an incredible excuse. I wouldn’t be surprised if they offer me Pantoja for the next one, so I think that would be the ideal scenario for me."
With Moreno's status as the first and only Mexican champion in the history of the promotion, it makes plenty of sense for him to appear on a pay-per-view that takes place in Mexico City. Pantoja, who has not fought since UFC 277, will likely look to schedule the fight sooner as September will mark 14 months since he last competed.
Check out Brandon Moreno's comments below:
