The co-main event of UFC 277 is where a new interim flyweight champion was crowned. The UFC’s former 125-pound champ, Brandon Moreno, captured some gold again by stopping the #2 rated, Kai Kara-France, with a devastating liver kick in the third round. Kara-France was having his best round of the fight, but Moreno dug deep and found a way to finish the fight. Will he now fight Deiveson Figueiredo for a fourth time? It looks like that’s the plan.
Moreno came out working his jab, but we got an accidental cup kick from Kara-France that caused an early pause in the action. The fight quickly got back underway, with both men staying at range. The longer Moreno was able to slip in some of his punches, while Kara-France was often stuck just out of range.
The same sort of flow went on in the second stanza. A lot of feints from range, with Moreno periodically getting through with his jab. Kara-France was sneaking in some leg kicks here and there, but wasn’t really building off of them. They came together a few times, but it was never for very long.
Kara-France caught a kick and used the moment to to jump into the full guard of Moreno. Kai quickly started to rain down punches, and split open the former champ under his right eye. Moreno was quick to get back to his feet, but first blood had been drawn. Kara-France was finding his groove, getting himself close enough to land his strikes. Moreno started to press forward, firing back and showing his grit. Then, Moreno delivered a laser liver kick that sent Kara-France crashing down to the canvas. Moreno jumped on him with a ton of ground strikes before the referee finally stopped the fight.
Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France by TKO at 4:34 of round 3: Interim Flyweight Title
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