Two-time UFC champion Brandon Moreno won over #3 ranked flyweight, Amir Albazi to get back into the win column and restart his journey to the top of the flyweight mountain.
‘The Assassin Baby‘ put on a five-round scorcher against the Iraqi fighter and his purse reflected it. More or less, at least.
This was the 17-1 fighter’s first main event feature in what was the toughest fight of his career. And it was a commendable performance. Nobody expected him to run through Moreno. But the two went toe to toe for 5 rounds and despite the loss, one can hope that the Iraqi fighter features a lot more on main events.
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As far as purses are concerned, Moreno is speculated to bag a purse of $200k. As for his opponent, Albazi, according to Marca, he is likely to receive a $100k paycheck for his UFC Edmonton adventure.
This is, again, a speculation, as the UFC is notorious for not making fighter pay public, despite obvious and astoundingly negative feedback they have had from fans.
There’s always talk about locker room payments being better than the bonuses fighters receive but these are only rumors and the company’s silence on them only furthers them. It is concerning though as the UFC doesn’t even let its fighters watch the fights in the arena after their own bouts are done with.
So a secret locker room payment does sound like someone trying to sell you sand on a beach.
Regardless of this, Moreno won’t care. He wants to get into title contention and this helps him get back on track.
Moreno destroys Albazi in unanimous decision win
Heading into the bout, the former champion was clearly the favorite against the +140 underdog, Albazi. And the scrap turned out to be just that.
Firing jabs off his lead foot, Moreno peppered the Iraqi with shots in R1 while the latter could only circle out and return some of that fire. The ring rust due to frequent health troubles was evident in Albazi as it took him a couple of rounds to even find his range. Despite this, the 31-year-old got in some gnarly leg kicks which momentarily took Moreno off his feet.
Round 2 was more eventful in comparison to the first. Having the speed advantage, Moreno stunned his opponent with a blistering head kick, only for Albazi to show his heart and rush for a takedown moments later.
Even though he got the former champ to the canvas, Moreno popped right back up and continued his onslaught. At this point Moreno had clearly established himself as the better fighter, effortlessly weaving past punches while timing his own.
In the third round, however, Albazi found his footing and got in a thudding short right hook that shook Moreno. Or so he thought!
Moreno swarmed in right after and landed brutal shots and the Iraqi’s right eye seemed to get the brunt of it.
The fourth round was more or less the same with Moreno catching his opponent with shots almost effortlessly while changing levels to deny any opportunity for the Iraqi fighter.
In the final fray, the action picked up, and ‘The Assassin Baby’ landed a clubbing punch on Albazi wobbling him after the latter attempted another takedown.
Despite a valiant Albazi still gearing up for a dog fight in the final seconds, Moreno’s experience in big fights came in handy as the rest of the fight went without much of a change in tone.
Finally, the bells rang and the fighters hugged each other before Bruce Buffer announced the result – 49-26, 50-45, 50-45 – in favor of Moreno.
