Brandon Moreno returned to form, and then some as he delivered a one-sided performance in the main event of UFC Edmonton.
The two-time UFC flyweight champ dominated Amir Albazi from bell-to-bell over five rounds to pick up a unanimous decision win, and snap a two-fight skid in the process.
Moreno swept two of the judges’ scorecards, while the third judge scored it 49-46 for “The Assassin Baby.”
The action started at a methodical pace with both fighters picking their shots. Moreno landed a big right hand halfway through that was the most significant strike of the opening round. The counter combinations began to land for Moreno as the round went on, along with a brutal leg kick that put Albazi to a knee. A short uppercut from Moreno closed out the stanza.
Moreno continued to pepper Albazi on the feet, but Albazi landed a perfectly timed takedown only for the former champ to shrug it off immediately and get back to work on the feet. Albazi landed a sneaky left hook to start Round 3, but Moreno opened up a cut under the right eye of Albazi seconds later. While Albazi showed a little improvement in the third, the momentum continued on the feet for Moreno, as he built a big lead heading into the championship rounds.
The dominance of Moreno continued through the fourth round, and after an Albazi eye poke to Moreno stopped the action briefly in the fifth. After a near takedown and a scramble, Moreno hurt Albazi with a huge punch. Albazi, bloodied and battered, was able to survive to the final horn, and the final 25 seconds was a slugfest that Moreno got the best of.
With the win, Moreno surpassed Demetrious Johnson for the most significant strikes landed in UFC flyweight history with over 1,100.
Albazi suffers his first UFC loss in his return to action for the first time since June 2023.
