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UFC 290 goes down tonight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight’s card features two UFC title fights. The main event has a UFC featherweight reunification bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champ Yair Rodriguez. The co-main sees UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno defend his title against Alexandre Pantoja.
UFC 290: Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja live play-by-play stream
UFC 290 is live tonight. This is where you can follow along all the action in the co-main event between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja.
Round 1
Pantoja clinched up with Moreno after throwing a short flurry of punches. Moreno put Pantoja against the cage while in this clinch position. Pantoja landed a few short punches in this position, Moreno threw some knees to the legs of Pantoja and throws one shoulder strike. They remained in this position for more than a minute before they separated.
Moreno scored with a quick three-punch combo before they clinched briefly again. After another quick clinch they were both focusing on striking. Moreno got knocked down halfway through the round by a left hook, allowing Pantoja to take half guard on the ground. Pantoja threw a couple of elbows to the head of Moreno before slowing down on the ground. It was at this point that Moreno started to bleed around his right eye.
Pantoja stood up after briefly being in full guard. Moreno sprung up to his feet as well. Pantoja is the more aggressive striker now, charging at Moreno. He scored with a clean left hook during one of these explosions forward.
The flyweights got tied up against the cage again after a brief moment where Moreno tripped Pantoja and got him to the ground. They separate again before the round expires. Pantoja did the clear damage to Moreno in this round and gained an early lead. 10-9 Pantoja.
Round 2
They were both swinging to open the second round. Pantoja connected with a few shots, and then Moreno scored with a punch that got a reaction from the crowd. Lots of wailing punches from both fighters are causing them to whiff on some attempts. Moreno got on the back of Pantoja after throwing a combination, taking the fight to the ground in this position.
Moreno now potentially has three minutes to work while on the back of Pantoja. Moreno exploded out of this position about 45 seconds later, moving into a side control position on top. Pantoja was able to block this somewhat and eventually get back to the feet. On the feet, Moreno scored with a left hook that caused the crowd to cheer for him again. It was at this point that the broadcast started to ponder if Pantoja’s cardio was already becoming an issue for him.
While throwing a jab at Pantoja, Moreno threw his right arm in the air, encouraging a very pro-Moreno crowd to continue chanting. The pace of this fight has slowed down somewhat, partly because Pantoja’s output has dropped off. Moreno is periodically throwing a jab at Pantoja in the final minute of this round.
They both picked up the pace at the 10 second clapper. Moreno caught a knee and threw Pantoja to the ground just before the round ended. Better success on the feet this round against a potentially tiring Pantoja along with some work on the ground makes this a solid comeback round for Moreno. 19-19.
Round 3
Pantoja’s corner told him that the fight is “1-1” as they go into the third round. The flyweights clinch to start the second round. Moreno takes a knee to the groin in this position, causing a pause just 12 seconds into this round. Moreno was quick to get back into the fight after this shot – they resumed less than 30 seconds later.
Pantoja charged at Moreno and put a body lock on his back against the cage. Pantoja took the fight to the ground on the back of Moreno. He established a body triangle and started to look for a choke. Pantoja was now the fighter bleeding significantly – the broadcast claimed this was due to some elbows that Moreno landed. Moreno did a good job trapping the arms of Pantoja, stopping his work on the ground. Moreno escaped this position with three minutes to go and moved into full guard.
He eventually left this position and the fight returned to the feet. Moreno threw a series of jabs at Pantoja. He continued to throw combinations of shots against Pantoja, who covered up to block these strikes but did not respond with much. Moreno was mixing high kicks into his strikes at this point. Pantoja shot for a takedown with two minutes to go, but Moreno backed up and was able to deny the attempt.
Pantoja tried again just moments after and this time was successful. Pantoja moved from full guard to side control, but Moreno escaped in the process and took top control. Pantoja started to throw elbows while on the bottom.
With 35 seconds to go, the flyweights went back to the feet. Both showing the damage and fatigue of three rounds, the output from both fighters was somewhat slow for the final moments of the round. This was easily the hardest round to call of the three, but this was a round that I’ll give to Pantoja. That makes it 29-28 Pantoja with potentially two to go.
Round 4
Some context going into this fourth round: Pantoja’s corner said they think he won the round. Moreno’s corner told him they think he probably lost it. They’re boxing to start the fourth. Moreno scored with a clean left hook at the end of a combination. They’re both connecting quite frequently on the feet. Pantoja took Moreno down just over a minute into the round. Moreno returned to his feet roughly 15 seconds later.
Pantoja kept Moreno against the cage when they got back up. With three minutes to go, Pantoja was able to throw Moreno back down to the canvas. Pantoja kept a hold of Moreno on the ground for a minute, causing a little bit of boos from the Las Vegas crowd. Pantoja stayed on the back of Moreno as they got back to the feet once again. As they held against the cage, the crowd booed a little more.
Pantoja took Moreno down once again with a minute to go. He started to look for an arm triangle choke, but Moreno escaped the attempt and took full guard on top. Like the rounds before, they stood back up for the final moments of the round. Moreno connected with a hard elbow as the round finished up.
Pantoja had control time in this round, but Moreno had the better of striking positions and did more damage between the two. This was a round you could certainly score either way, but I’m going to go the way of Moreno. 38-38 on my scorecard.
Round 5
With how close this fight is going into the fifth, it’s hard to think that this is the third time Moreno and Pantoja have fought. Though it does make more sense when you consider how long it’s been since they last met. Pantoja’s corner believed that they have won three rounds thus far. Moreno’s corner expressed urgency.
The final round started with the scrappy striking that you saw between these flyweights in previous rounds as well. Moreno’s doing well with the striking, scoring with jabs and coming forward with some combinations as well. At one point he threw a trio of left hooks against a backing up Pantoja. Halfway through the round, Pantoja took Moreno to the ground.
He took the back of Moreno and remained mounted on him as he returns to the feet. From this position Pantoja periodically threw punches. He kept in this spot right until the very end of the fight.
Another round that was hard to score, and something tells me that the official cards could be all around the place for this one. I’m going to give that final round to Pantoja, meaning we might hear “And New” from Bruce Buffer in a few moments. Let’s see what happens. My final scorecard: 48-47 Pantoja.
RESULT: Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno by split decision (49-46 Moreno, 48-47 Pantoja & 48-47 Pantoja): UFC Flyweight Championship
UFC 290 quick results
Main card
- Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez by TKO at 4:19 of round 3: UFC Featherweight Championship
- Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno by split decision (49-46 Moreno, 48-47 Pantoja & 48-47 Pantoja): UFC Flyweight Championship
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker by TKO at 2:23 of round 2: Middleweight
- Dan Hooker def. Jalin Turner by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28): Lightweight
- Bo Nickal def. Val Woodburn by TKO at :38 of round 1: Middleweight
Prelims
- Robbie Lawler def. Niko Price by KO at :38 of round 1: Welterweight
- Tatsuro Taira def. Edgar Cháirez by unanimous decision (29-27 x3): 130-pounds
- Denise Gomes def. Yazmin Jauregui by KO at :20 of round 1: Strawweight
- Alonzo Menifield def. Jimmy Crute by submission (guillotine) at 1:55 of round 2: Light Heavyweight
Early prelims
- Vitor Petrino def. Marcin Prachnio by submission (arm triangle) at 3:42 of round 3: Lightweight
- Cameron Saaiman def. Terrence Mitchell by TKO at 3:10 of round 1: Bantamweight
- Jesus Aguilar def. Shannon Ross by KO at :17 of round 1: Flyweight
- Esteban Ribovics def. Kamuela Kirk by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Lightweight
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