UFC 290: Brandon Moreno vs Alexander Pantoja 3 to be Co-Main Event
Brandon Moreno and Alexander Pantoja will clash in a trilogy fight is set to be co-main event at UFC 290 PPV.
The news comes from ESPN’s Marc Raimondi through UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell after an initial report from Freak MMA Instagram Page. The bout will have Brandon Moreno’s UFC Flyweight Championship on the line.
Alexander Pantoja has defeated Moreno in both their previous clashes. Pantoja beat the reigning champion via submission in an exhibition bout under The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions in 2016. Pantoja was also victorious in their pro MMA rematch at UFC Fight Night event on May 19, 2018, in Chile.
This will be Pantoja’s first title shot in UFC. He is currently on a 3-fight winning streak since losing to Askar Askarov in July 2020. He has defaeted Manel Kape(unanimous decision), Brandon Royval(submission) and Alex Perez(submission) and has climbed to #2 in UFC Flyweight rankings.
For Brandon Moreno, 4 out of his last 5 bouts have come against Deiveson Figueiredo over UFC Flyweight title. The pair first fought to a draw at UFC 256 in December 2020. Moreno won the title from Figueiredo via submission at UFC 263 before Figueiredo won it back at UFC 270 via unanimous decision.
Moreno defeated Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 to win the interim title before beating Figueiredo at UFC 283 in their fourth clash to unify the titles.
UFC 290 PPV is set to take place in UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas, NV, on July 8, 2023. The event is set to be headlined by a featherweight title unification bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez.
