Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno had one of the best performances of his entire career last night as he dominated dangerous contender Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC Edmonton.
Whilst the shut-out failed to secure ‘The Assassin Baby’ another $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, it did see the Mexican superstar re-writing his name into the history books as he surpassed the legendary ‘Mighty Mouse’ for two all-time records.
Brandon Moreno officially passes ‘Mighty Mouse’ for most flyweight strikes
Last night, Brandon Moreno put on a striking clinic as he ran away with the UFC Edmonton main event; when all was said and done, the judges’ scorecards ultimately read 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46 in favor of the former champ.
In fact, Moreno would comprehensively out-strike ‘The Prince’ across the board, with the UFC stats page reporting that ‘The Assassin Baby’ landed 132 significant strikes (the second most of his career) to Albazi’s 63.
Those 132 strikes not only left Albazi bloodied and bruised, but it also meant that Moreno has now officially surpassed the legendary Demetrious Johnson for the most significant strikes landed in UFC flyweight history.
- Brandon Moreno – 1131 sig. strikes
- Demetrious Johnson – 1059 sig. strikes
- Alexandre Pantoja – 861 sig. strikes
- Joseph Benavidez – 824 sig. strikes
Moreno also now holds the flyweight record for total fight time, with his 25-minute domination of Albazi meaning he surged above ‘Mighty Mouse’ with 4 hours, 43 minutes and 28 seconds of UFC action.
Whilst both are truly outstanding achievements, there are even more all-time UFC records just over the Mexican’s horizon.
- ‘Most UFC Flyweight Fights’ (17) – record held by Benavidez at 19
- ‘Most UFC Flyweight Wins’ (10) – record tied by Benavidez/Johnson at 13
- ‘Most UFC Flyweight Finishes’ (6) – record held by Johnson at 7
- ‘Most UFC Flyweight Bonuses’ (7) – record held by Johnson at 9
Brandon Moreno had a whale of a time in the UFC Edmonton main event
From the opening bell all the way to the final horn, Brandon Moreno looked like he was having the time of his life in there against Amir Albazi; with a major theme of his post-fight breakdown being the pleasure that comes with putting on a perfect performance.
“Oh my God, I had a lot of fun, I was just talking with my coach Sayif Saud about that,” Moreno explained on the ESPN MMA post-show – a six-minute interview in which he never stopped smiling once.
“Man, I was having so much fun and enjoying every single round of the fight… Sometimes when you feel the pressure and everything, you’re like ‘Eh, I don’t know’ but today I just enjoyed the fight.
“I just felt so comfortable and relaxed… All the fighters, we talk about it like ‘Oh have fun and be in the moment’ but that’s hard to do it in the middle of a fight – but today, everything was connected in the right place.”
Moreno entered UFC Edmonton as the #2 ranked flyweight in the world but even after landing back in the win column, ‘The Assassin Baby’ believes that he’ll still need one more win before getting another title shot.
“I mean, I have to be honest with myself, I think I need one more [win] – I don’t know what the UFC will decide in the future – but I think I have to fight one more before the title.
“I don’t care [who], at the end I just want the title back but if you give me the option, I want to get that victory against Pantoja… I think I can do it; I was missing a few things in my last fight… But little differences to fix and I can get that victory.”
Moreno now holds a record of 22-8-2 and is 10-5-2 under the UFC banner, whilst Albazi drops to 17-2 as a professional.
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