Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno bounced back into the win column in fine style as he outclassed No. 3-ranked contender Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi in Edmonton, Canada.
The bout represented a comeback fight for both men, with Moreno looking to return to winning ways after back-to-back losses on either side of a seven-month layoff, while Albazi returned to action after heart and neck surgery for his first appearance since the summer of 2023.
Both men looked in superb condition and, based on the performance of both men inside the Octagon at Rogers Place, the gap between No. 2 and No. 3 appeared to be an almighty chasm, as No. 2-ranked Moreno comprehensively outstruck and outmanoeuvred his opposite number through the full 25-minute duration of their non-title main event.
Moreno settled into his work early and looked slick and sharp in a strong opening round showing. And that form continued into Round 2 as he put Albazi on the back foot with an educated combination of punches and kicks. Even a takedown attempt from Albazi resulted in Moreno showcasing his defensive skills as he quickly escaped “The Prince’s” clutches. And, by the end of the second round, Moreno’s confidence was sky-high, with his striking looking sharper, faster and more accurate than his opponent’s.
That confidence continued through Rounds 3 and 4 as Moreno continued to outwork Albazi, who looked out of ideas heading into the final round.
And, with Albazi desperately needing a finish to turn the fight around, it was Moreno pushing the harder of the two in pursuit of a stoppage. A big right hand from the former champion sent Albazi staggering backwards and, in the closing seconds of the fight, it was Moreno fighting hard for a last-gasp finish.
After five rounds of dominance from the former champion, the judges scored the bout 49-46, 50-45, 50-45 to put Moreno right back in the title mix at 125 pounds. And, based on his post-fight comments to Daniel Cormier, “The Assassin Baby” won’t be fully satisfied until he’s reunited with the UFC flyweight title once again.
Erin Blanchfield rallies to claim come-from-behind win
In the co-main event, Erin Blanchfield produced one of the best performances of her career as she recovered from losing the first two rounds to defeat former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in their five-round flyweight showcase.
Najamunas looked the more comfortable fighter in the stand-up exchanges, and sprung a surprise on Blanchfield mid-way through Round 2 when she stuffed her takedown attempt, then reversed it and took Blanchfield down to the canvas.
It meant Blanchfield needed to adjust her approach, and she reacted well when Namajunas attempted a takedown of her own as she reversed position and turned it into a spell of dominance on the mat herself to give her a dominant round in Round 3.
That gave Blanchfield more confidence heading into the fourth frame, and she got much more aggressive in the stand-up exchanges in the penultimate round. But Namajunas continued to box well off the back foot in the most closely-contested round of the fight.
It meant the fight was hanging in the balance heading into the final round, and a takedown from Blanchfield put her in the driving seat as she dominated the action with her grappling and clinch work until the final horn.
With the fight heading to the scorecards, the result hinged on how that critical fourth round was scored, and when the totals were read, it was Blanchfield who got the nod, with all three judges scoring the final three rounds to the young contender, who added the name of a women’s MMA legend to her resume with a hard-earned come-from-behind win.
Jasmine Jasudavicius claims victory on home soil
Canada’s ranked women’s flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius put herself in line for a move up the women’s 125-pound rankings after defeating Brazil’s Ariane da Silva via third-round submission.
After a close opening round, Jasudavicius turned to her wrestling in Rounds 2 and 3 as she dominated da Silva on the ground. And, after an early takedown at the start of the final frame, Jasudavicius worked her way into position to finish the fight with a tight D’Arce choke to extend her win streak to three and improve her record to 12 wins, three losses.
Dustin Stoltzfus abandons his gameplan, scores KO victory
Earlier in the night there was a wild tear-up at middleweight as Dustin Stoltzfus stunned Marc-Andre Barriault late in the first round of their 185-pound clash.
Stoltzfus admitted after his knockout victory that he did everything he and his coach agreed that he should definitely not do as he went into the trenches with Barriault.
And, in the final minute of the opening round, Stoltzfus and Barriault engaged in a wild exchange that saw the former knock out “Power Bar” to score a huge victory and claim only the third knockout win of his 22-fight MMA career.
Mike Malott claims first career decision victory
The main card opened up with a home win, as welterweight Mike Malott outpointed Trevin Giles over three rounds. Malott admitted after his victory that the win didn’t come as he would have hoped but said that he found Giles to be a tricky customer who gave him few openings for him to really let his strikes go.
It meant that Malott rebounded from his January defeat to Neil Magny as he claimed the first decision victory of his MMA career.
There was also a split-decision victory on the main card for Brendson Ribeiro, who edged a close decision on the scorecards against Caio Machado.
UFC Edmonton: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Brandon Moreno def. Amir Albazi via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
- Erin Blanchfield def. Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Ariane da Silva via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 3, 2:28
- Dustin Stoltzfus def. Marc-Andre Barriault via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:28
- Mike Malott def. Trevin Giles via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Aiemann Zahabi def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Charles Jourdain def. Victor Henry via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:43
- Youssef Zalal def. Jack Shore via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 0:59
- Alexander Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Serhiy Sidey def. Garrett Armfield via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
