Brandon Moreno puts on a show, breaks historic record and defeats Amir Albazi at UFC Edmonton

Brandon Moreno won amir albazi by unanimous decision. Photo: Instagram/UFC.

Brandon Moreno had one of the best performances of his career in UFC Edmonton, held this Saturday (02), in Canada. The former flyweight champion (up to 56.7 kg.) dominated the Iraqi amir albazi in the main fight of the event by unanimous decision of the judges. In 25 minutes of high level, the Mexican broke the record for the number of significant strikes landed in the history of the category, surpassing Demetrious Johnson, one of the greatest names of all time.

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Moreno landed on Canadian soil needing a win. After being defeated twice in a row by Alexandre pantoja e Brandon royval in very balanced fights, the Mexican sought to return to the winning column against amir albazi, which in turn, had not tasted failure since 2019.

Movement and speed in punches were fundamental to victory

In the first round, Moreno quickly began to dominate the center of the octagon, using his jab to control the distance and fend off Albazi's approaches, who in turn tried to counterattack with more forceful blows. In the last minute, the Mexican managed to unbalance his opponent after landing a straight right hand.

Moreno came back more aggressive for the second round. In the early stages of the round, the Mexican partially landed a high kick, stunning the Iraqi. Albazi managed to get a takedown, but the former champion quickly got back on his feet and kept hunting for long boxing combinations, scoring a lot with his jab against a visibly slower opponent.

The Mexican adopted an even more aggressive stance in the third round, moving forward and throwing violent punches that opened a wound on Albazi's left cheek. Despite occasionally landing good rights, the Iraqi visibly hurt his right eye after a precise left cross, which kept him on the defensive throughout the round.

The penultimate round saw the former champion more restrained, displaying very efficient head movement and scoring points with the use of his jab. In the last five minutes of the fight, Moreno put on one of the best performances of his career by hurting his opponent with a left cross and coming close to knocking him out.

At end, Brandon Moreno was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with two judges scoring it 50-45 in his favor, and the other scoring it 49-46.

VIVA #UFCEdmonton pic.twitter.com/XzJjCtjYYb

- UFC (@ufc) November 3, 2024

Rose Namajunas suffers comeback and loses to Erin Blanchfield

Already in the co-main fight of the UFC Edmonton, the plans of Rose namajunas to secure their third consecutive victory in the flyweight division (up to 56,7 kg) were frustrated by Erin Blanchfield, who defeated the former strawweight champion (up to 52,1 kg) by unanimous decision of the judges, even after losing the first two rounds.

Resilience and falls made the difference

The complex movement and high speed of Rose namajunas confused Erin Blanchfield in the first ten minutes of the fight. Avoiding the attacks of her younger opponent, the former champion capitalized with good boxing combinations in the first two rounds, while her rival became increasingly aggressive.

However, the fight took a sudden turn in the third round. While attempting a sacrifice takedown, Rose was controlled on the ground by her opponent, enough to bring Blanchfield back into the fight.

After two tough rounds, Erin Blanchfield got the takedown. Photo: Instagram/UFC.

In the penultimate round, Rose opted for a more measured style, abusing a wider range of movement, which favored Erin. The third-ranked fighter in the category maintained her aggressiveness and landed the best blows. In the fifth round, she managed to take down Namajunas once again, dominating her and sealing the comeback.

At the end of the fight, Erin Blanchfield was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with all judges scoring it 48-47 in her favor.

Erin Blanchfield is ranked third in the category. Photo: Instagram/UFC.

Check out all the results from UFC Edmonton

MAIN CARD

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Brandon Moreno derrotou amir albazi by unanimous decision of the judges (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Erin Blanchfield derrotou Rose namajunas by unanimous decision of the judges (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Heavyweight (Up to 120,2 kg): Derrick Lewis x Jonathan Diniz – fight canceled

Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Brendson Ribeiro derrotou Caio Machado split decision from judges (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Jasmine Jasudavicius derrotou Ariane da Silva by submission at 2min28s of R3 (hand triangle)

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Dustin Soltzfus defeated Marc-Andre Barriault by knockout at 4min28s of R1 (punch)

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Mike Malott derrotou Trevin giles by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD 

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Aiemann Zahabi derrotou Peter Munhoz in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Charles Jourdain derrotou Victor Henry via submission (guillotine) at 3min43s of R2

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Youssef Zalal derrotou Jack shore via submission (katagatame) 59s into R2

Heavy weight (up to 120,2 kg): Alexander Romanov derrotou Rodrigo Zé Colmeia in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Serhiy Sidey defeated Garrett Armfield by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Cody Gibson derrotou Chad Anheliger in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Jamey-Lyn Horth derrotou Ivana Petrovic in the judges' split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)