The Flyweight division is criminally underrated. You’ll hear many MMA nerds online spout this sort of sentiment, but it is the truth. Filled with talent at the top-end, compounded by fights that occur at a blistering pace, it is truly a must-watch division and has been ever since Deiveson Figueiredo won the vacant belt.
UFC 290 was no different.
Brandon Moreno showed his new and improved form against the man who twice bested him in his early career in an attempt to defend the title he twice won. Alexandre Pantoja was looking to sweep their rivalry and win the title in a fight he should have been granted years ago.
It ended up being fight of the year and competitive enough where either man could have won. A tug-of-war between Moreno’s boxing and Pantoja’s back takes (though neither were a slouch in the other man’s speciality), both men showed grit and heart worthy of praise.
What struck me most throughout the fight was the damage that Moreno was able to inflict. The pair’s earlier fights were characterized by Moreno finding good counters to Pantoja’s unbridled aggression, but soon getting overwhelmed when they failed to stop the momentum. Moreno was not discouraged last Saturday. Even though Pantoja showed some improved craft on the feet, hurting Moreno in the first on two occasions, Moreno was able to deliver consistent offense that bloodied his adversary.
This striking came at a cost though, as every time Moreno began to extend his combinations in the later rounds, Pantoja would shoot a well-timed takedown under the strike and maintain control for the rest of the round. Though I saw an edge in damage for Moreno the control time and choke attempts by Pantoja were what ultimately lost him the fight in the judges eyes.
This was Moreno’s Double-Edged Striking.
Disclaimer: The video clips included in this article are not owned by the author. They are included for educational purposes only to illustrate key moments in the fighter’s career and demonstrate aspects of mixed martial arts techniques and strategies. All rights to the video content belong to their respective owners.
Adapting to Adversity
Early in the fight it looked as though Moreno was about to get finished. After trading jabs with Pantoja and leaning away, he gets dropped almost the instant he attempt to hook off the jab.
If you look closely, Pantoja hooks off the jab quicker than I’ve ever seen and catches Moreno with his hand down and leaning back. The shot stuns Moreno, giving Pantoja some time to inflict damage on the ground.
Later in the first round Moreno gets stung with Pantoja’s left hook yet again while throwing a retreating jab.
Pantoja capitalized on Moreno’s lazy defense after throwing the jab in the first which clearly won the Brazilian the round.
Gets it again in the 3rd, though to a lesser extent.
As the fight progressed however, Moreno’s left hand became his most potent weapon.
Moreno’s Left Side Domination
Past the first, the fight was largely controlled with Brandon Moreno’s jab, left hook, and movement. Pantoja would compete by jabbing with Moreno, but Moreno’s dexterity with his left hand often won him the exchanges.
Moreno’s hand-speed and accuracy quickly overwhelms Pantoja’s attempts to match his jabbing.
Given Pantoja is a man who bull-rushes into opposition, the jab was a perfect weapon to maintain pressure and wear him down. Where Pantoja was able to take advantage of Moreno’s lacking defense after the jab in the first, Moreno began to work in combination, keep his right hand up, and move in order to stifle the counters.
Moreno throws a 1-2, dips out to avoid the right hook, and attempts a counter left to the body.
As it turns out, this was also a NECESSARY adaptation as Moreno broke his right hand in the first round and threw it sparingly throughout the fight. Likely to keep up appearances rather than do any actual damage.
Moreno perfectly intercepts Pantoja’s left hook with a quick jab. In each of these videos you can see more proactive movement from Moreno as he jabs. Subtle head movement, feints, and attacks.
While the jab was the most prevalent weapon throughout the fight, his left hook was certainly the most damaging. In a twist of irony, the same strike that gave him fits in the first ended up being his greatest companion from 2-5.
Moreno hooks off the jab and is able to roll with the return. Also a nice touch that even though Pantoja is jabbing with him, is defensive retreat is lateral as well. Keep the man turning.
Triple Decker
My favorite combination he used was the jab, dip out of the return, left hook to the body, left hook to the head.
Moreno perfectly dips under Pantoja’s left hook and RIPS him to the body. Moreno has the dominant angle and is able to immediately hook to the head as Pantoja turns to face him.
Other than just being beautiful to look at, Moreno anticipated the left hook return from the jab and dipped out, which put him in perfect positioning to rip a left hook to the body and follow up with one upstairs.
Moreno is able to stifle Pantoja’s clinch with this very combination. Pantoja’s high guard left him open for the body shot, and once his guard lowered the left hook slipped in perfectly.
The body work paid off as even though Pantoja was able to exert his A-game from rounds 3-5 and won the fight as a result, he looked tired as all hell and pushed on anyways. This is a more a testament to Pantoja’s absolute doggedness than the failure of Moreno’s body work, which was lovely. If anything I wish he incorporated it more.
Combination Conundrum
Brandon Moreno was able to work himself back into the fight after the first because of his combination work. Ironically, this ended up costing him when he deviated from his left-hand work on the outside.
Elbow clinch break
Throws the left over the top.
On two occasions, Moreno attempted to throw an extended combination and continue his work on the inside as Pantoja barreled into the clinch. Rather than focus on defending the grappling threat, he would often throw a well-timed elbow or right hand over the top to break away from the clinch.
Where punching out of the clinch worked for Moreno earlier, it now simply gave an opening for Pantoja to dive on the hips. You see Moreno quickly bring his arm down to prevent the underhook once he realizes, but it is too little too late.
This strategy worked for him early on in the fight, but Pantoja remained insistent. Rather than allow Moreno to throw a glancing strike break away, he would hold firm and continue the clinch despite Moreno’s striking. This led to his extended periods of control in rounds 3 and 4.
Moreno has the right idea in throwing the uppercut to damage Pantoja’s level change after evading his left hook. However, he gets greedy throwing the elbow. Just as the clinch in the third, Moreno lets his elbow leave his side, giving Pantoja an opportunity to shoot in.
Though a game of damage, Moreno’s insistence to punch a hole in the face of Pantoja gave him a clear avenue for the takedown.
Glimmers of Improvement
In the fourth round, Moreno found a small moment that can serve him well in a potential rematch with the man who has thrice-bested him. After getting up from underneath Pantoja at the end of the fourth, Moreno had him with his back to the cage.
He was able to execute a measured but devastating offense in this 15 seconds, where he would throw key strikes at Pantoja with his back against the cage, move away from his counters, and come back in with more offense. As well as this, he met Pantoja’s clinch attempts with a aside on shoulder to the chest in the style of classical inside fighters like Duran and Armstrong.
Moreno used this same shoulder pressure in the first. Staying perpendicular to Pantoja helped prevent the attempt.
Moreno can alter his approach with a focus on pressuring Pantoja to the cage. Though the man is always coming forward and throwing heat, he can attack while moving laterally and inching forward to get Pantoja to the fence in the later rounds. Though he is a monster who refuses to quit, this might better take advantage of the times when he is winded. His options will be limited, and Moreno can attempt to put up a more measured offensive performance with Pantoja’s back to the cage.
Though the focus of this article has been Brandon Moreno, Alexandre Pantoja is an incredible fighter who deserves to be called a champion. A beautiful performance from both men and one of the best title fights I have had the pleasure of watching. You can learn an incredible amount about fighting (in different phases) from both men, and they should be earning as much praise and money as humanly possible. Watch these fucking Flyweights, you’re an idiot if you don’t.