Brandon Moreno is back.
UFC CEO, Dana White, took to social media today (Tues., Sept. 3, 2024). to announce a change to UFC Edmonton’s main event on Nov. 2, 2024. In a pivotal Flyweight contender match up, the former two-time champion, Moreno (21-8-2), returns to face a previously scheduled opponent, Amir Albazi (17-1).
UFC Edmonton’s main event was originally targeted as a Heavyweight clash between Derrick Lewis and Alexandr Romanov. The pair was shuffled shortly after, leading to Lewis vs. Johnata Diniz and Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento. As a result of that shuffle, another Flyweight contender clash, Rose Namajunas vs. Erin Blanchfield, was then booked as the main event.
The Albazi fight will be Moreno’s first since he took a brief hiatus away from mixed martial arts (MMA) earlier this year. Moreno’s decision came shortly after a split decision loss in his rematch with Brandon Royval at UFC Mexico in February 2024. The loss was Moreno’s second straight after previously dropping the title to the current champion, Alexandre Pantoja, by a split decision in July 2023 (watch highlights)
Albazi, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since his first UFC main event win, a split decision over Kai Kara-France in June 2023. The win extended Albazi’s streak to six (five in UFC). Albazi was originally supposed to fight Moreno at UFC Mexico until Royval replaced him due to an injury.
The current UFC Edmonton line up can be seen below.
- 125lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi
- 125lbs.: Rose Namajunas vs. Erin Blanchfield
- 265lbs.: Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz
- 135lbs.: Aiemann Zahabi vs. Pedro Munhoz
- 170lbs.: Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles
- 205lbs.: Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- 265lbs.: Alexandr Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
- 135lbs.: Chad Anheliger vs. Cody Gibson
- 135lbs.: Serhiy Sidey vs. Garrett Armfield
- 185lbs.: Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- 125lbs.: Ariane Da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
- 125lbs.: Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Ivana Petrovic