UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno vs Steve Erceg

The next UFC Fight Night card is set to take stage at Mexic City, and who else to headline the card than Mexico’s very own Assassin Baby. The two-time flyweight title holder, Brandon Moreno, is set to defend home turf against former Flyweight title contender Steve Erceg. The Aussie is on a two-fight losing streak after his first title shot, making this one a do-or-die fight for him. Moreno, currently ranked second in the division, could mount another title shot if he manages to dispatch Erceg in an impressive manner. He is the home town hero after all, and might even do that.

Brandon Moreno Record (17-8-2)

Brandon Moreno is in contention for being one of the best fighters in UFC’s flyweight division. He held the title on two separate occasions and will always be remembered due to his quadriliogy against Deiveson Figueiredo, where he eventually came up on top. However, he lost the title against current champion Alexandre Pantoja and has since then dropped to the second contender in the division, mainly due to his loss against Brandon Royval.

But the Assassin Baby came back victorious after these two successive losses. In his last fight, we went up against Amir Albazi and defeated him in a five-round unanimous decision victory. Moreno is still not ready to call it quits and, at only 31 years of age, still has a chance to become a champion for the first time. If he can defeat Erceg and do so with style points, he may get another shot at Alexandre Pantoja.

Steve Erceg (12-3)

Stefe Erceg earned a title shot after only three fights in the UFC. The Astro Boy defeated David Dvorak and Alessandro Costa by decision before knocking out Matt Schnell. The UFC brass thought that this was enough and decided to give him an opportunity for gold. Unfortunately, he came up short as Alexandre Pantoja showed why he is the champion and managed to earn a decision victory over Erceg.

This was where troubles only started for Erceg as he dropped a second one in a row. At UFC 305, he was dropped and TKOed by Kai Kara-France. Erceg is still not done and has a lot more that he can offer the UFC’s flyweight division. But a third loss in a row is not going to sit well on his record. He should be in desperation mode as he walks into enemy territory of Mexico City.

Brandon Moreno vs Steve Erceg Prediction

Even though Kai Kara-France is most likely next in line to face Panoja for the title, this fight should be viewed as a title-elimination fight. The Flyweight division is one of the thinnest in the UFC, so it does not take a lot for each fighter to earn their shot. Both Moreno and Erceg know this and should look to end this fight as fast as possible and as spectacularly as they can.

Brandon Moreno has both the momentum and the crowd on his side. Furthermore, he is a much better grappler than Erceg and has more fight-round experience. His standup is also good and has been improving over the years.

On the other hand, Erceg is a certified slugger, but it could be hard to find the right shot against Moreno. Erceg should try to keep the fight standing. He has a much better shot at it if he chips away at Moreno. However, Brandon is most likely going to try to punch his way through him before dragging him to the ground. A decision victory for Moreno is what I think, but if he really gets things going, he could even manage to submit or put away Erceg on the ground.

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.