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After Deiveson Figueiredo won the vacant Flyweight title by defeating Joseph Benavidez a second time at UFC Fight Island 2 a few weeks ago, common sense (and the rankings) told us Brandon Moreno would be the man to get first dibs at dethroning “Daico.”
That was until former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt, stepped in and had his wish of facing Figueiredo granted by Dana White and Co., as “No Love” will face the champ at the proposed UFC 255 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., Nov. 21, 2020 at a venue and location to be determined.
But not all is lost for Moreno, as he is in line to face Alex Perez on the same card. That’s according to MMA Junkie, who reported that though the fight has not been finalized that is the direction the promotion is leaning toward.
Winner of three of his last four with one draw in between, Moreno has really turned it around over the last year. At UFC 245 he picked up a huge win over top 125-pound contender Jussier Formiga which helped climb all the way up to the No. 2 spot on the official UFC rankings.
As for Perez (No. 4), he is also on a nice little run after winning his last three and going 11-1 in his last 12 outings. With a win over Moreno, Perez could very well jump up to the No. 1 spot. That being said, should anything happen to Garbrandt in the lead up to the fight, Moreno will likely get the bump up to fill the championship void.
It’s all about insurance.
Also on the card, Valentina Shevchenko will put her women’s 125-pound title on the line against Jennifer Maia, who recently punched submitted her ticket to he first-ever UFC title fight by forcing Joanne Calderwood to tap at UFC on Vegas 5 a few weeks ago.