This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Edmonton, we saw a pivotal matchup in the flyweight division. Former champion Brandon Moreno (22-8-2) was taking on top contender Amir Albazi (17-2) who was making his return to the octagon.
Both men had decent layoffs ahead of this matchup. Moreno took some time off after his loss to Brandon Royval back in February. Albazi had a number of health issues that kept him out for over a year. The last time we had seen Albazi, he had defeated Kai Kara-France and he was hoping to get a title shot.
With both fighters, I was wondering what we’d see. For Moreno, would he look refreshed and for Albazi, would he look rusty. We saw both of those play out at UFC Edmonton. For Albazi, he just couldn’t get out of first gear in the fight. Meanwhile, Moreno looked incredibly sharp throughout the entire fight.
The fight stayed on the feet pretty much the entire time with Albazi finding no success with his wrestling. Moreno was able to rock him a couple of times and this fight felt like Moreno’s from the opening bell. After five rounds, it was a one-sided victory for The Assassin Baby.
What’s next after UFC Edmonton?
The flyweight division is in a very interesting spot right now. At UFC 310 next month, Alexandre Pantoja will take on Kai Asakura for the flyweight title. Asakura is making his promotion debut. Brandon Royval is likely next in line for a title shot after defeating Moreno earlier this year and then becoming the first man to defeat Tatsuro Taira.
Moreno is definitely in the mix, but I think he needs another win before he can get a title shot. So, what should the UFC do with the former champion next? It might be a tough sell, but I think the best move might be a trilogy matchup with Kai Kara-France.
They’ve fought twice before with Moreno winning both fights. However, their previous fight was for the interim flyweight title and KKF looked great in that fight before getting stopped by a Moreno body shot. Kara-France is coming off a huge knockout win over Steve Erceg. I don’t think he’ll jump over Royval in the contenders line, so I think a title eliminator with Moreno makes all the sense in the world.