Sayif Saud still thinks Brandon Moreno has the best chance to dethrone UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) has lost to Pantoja three times, most recently falling short by split decision in their title fight at UFC 290 in July 2023. He went on to lose a unanimous decision to Brandon Royval this past February, before opting to take some time off.
However, the former two-time UFC flyweight champion returned with a bang when he snapped Amir Albazi’s six-fight winning streak with a dominant performance in the UFC Fight Night 246 main event this past November.
“You look at the talent of the flyweights, I mean they are so good, all of them,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “Manel (Kape) looked amazing, Royval. But to me, Brandon (Moreno) is still the most complete one overall, and I think when you look at Brandon’s last fight with Pantoja, I feel like if that was judged now with the judging now, we win that fight off of damage.
“That fight was so close, and it’s kind of gotten lost in the cards because Brandon has lost to him before. But the thing is, I feel like Brandon now is even better, but Pantoja is even better. The reason you can’t say anything is because Pantoja is going out there and dominating people and finishing them. It’s like you’ve got to put a new name in the hat.”
Saud knows another fight with Pantoja is a tough sell, but with the way the champion has been tearing through competition, he doesn’t see Moreno being too far away from a potential fourth fight.
“We’ve just got to see what happens with Brandon, and Brandon is one fight away I think all the time,” Saud said. “But, with who? And I understand Mick Maynard and the UFC not giving us the title shot right now. They’ve already fought so many times, even though I think it’s probably the best fight, personally. I think Kai (Kara-France) is amazing and is going to do great on the feet (vs. Pantoja), but I just don’t know if he’s going to be able to handle that ground game. But, he’s not easy to take down either.
“You saw Albazi take him down and take his back although Kai handled it, and you saw what Brandon did to Albazi. Albazi couldn’t even get close to him. It wasn’t even close. So I think Brandon probably matches up the best with Pantoja, and I think he could absolutely win that fight, but because of their past and history, we’ve just got to sit and wait and see what happens, see if somebody drops from Manel and Royval, if one of them gets hurt, step in and fight that guy, (or) fight somebody else, and see what happens.”
