Brandon Moreno outpoints Steve Erceg at Fight Night
Former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno erased a stigma from his last UFC Mexico outing, winning a unanimous decision against Steve Erceg in a flyweight title eliminator bout in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event, sweeping the cards 49-46, 49-46, 49-46 over the former flyweight title challenger in Mexico City.
Although the fight was closely competitive, Moreno won all but one round - Round 3 - on all three cards as Moreno (23-8-2 MMA, 11-4-2 UFC) kept the fight standing and made the Australian-born Erceg come to him the entire fight. Despite Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) hanging in the pocket, it wasn't enough to overcome the home crowd and spring the upset.
Moreno called out chief business officer Hunter Campbell regarding guidance for his next fight. Although Moreno didn't name a would-be opponent explicitly, he did request to be part of UFC 320, scheduled for Sept. 13 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"I think I can move the needle," Moreno said after the fight.
Erceg has dropped three in a row after a rapid UFC start, going back to the drawing board again.
"I'll be back," Erceg said.
Manuel Torres overwhelmed 12-year UFC veteran Drew Dober to secure a first-round TKO in the night's co-main event, where Dober took at least 16 unanswered shots to the side of the head before the referee stopped the fight. Torres (16-3, 4-1) is back in the win column for the first time in over a year, whereas Dober (27-15, 13-11) has lost four of his last five dating to May 2023.
Flyweight Edgar Chairez needed one punch to pounce on CJ Vergara to set up an eventual face crank submission victory at 2:30 of Round 1. Chairez (12-6, 2-2-1) finally got off the snide after a bumpy start to his UFC career, winning two of his last three bouts to get to .500 in the promotion. Vergara (12-7-1, ) had his losing streak extended to three, going nearly two years without a promotional win.
Raul Rosas Jr. survived a late scare from Vince Morales to fend off a third-round D'arce choke submission and win a unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Rosas Jr. (11-1, 5-1) ignited his hometown crowd to earn his fifth win over his last six appearances, using his crisp boxing to frustrate Morales (16-10, 3-8), who had not earned a win in MMA since last August before being re-signed to the promotion shortly thereafter. It was Morales' third straight loss.
Dana White Contender Series alumni David Martinez emphatically won his UFC debut, needing just 4:36 of the opening round to earn a TKO win against Saimon Oliveira at bantamweight. Martinez (12-1, 1-0) has won eight in a row since losing his first fight nearly four years ago. Meanwhile, Oliveira (18-6, 0-3) is still searching for his first UFC victory and has lost three straight fights.
The UFC Fight Night main card got underway with flyweight prospect Kevin Borjas earning a decision win against Ronaldo Rodriguez, taking the cards 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Borjas (10-3, 1-2) earned his first UFC win after dropping his initial two outings, while Rodriguez (17-3, ) saw a seven-fight winning streak halted dating to November 2020.
--Field Level Media
Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UFC 316 live updates: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 results, round-by-round analysis and highlights
Uncrowned has UFC 316 live results, round-by-round updates, start time and highlights for the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 and Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison fight card on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili defends his title in a rematch against O'Malley in the night's five-round main event, while Peña begins her second reign as bantamweight champion with a five-round grudge match against Harrison in the co-headliner. Dvalishvili (19-4) is Uncrowned's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He enters Saturday riding the longest win streak in UFC bantamweight division history, having secured 11 straight victories en route to his O'Malley title rematch. A native of Georgia who's aptly nicknamed "The Machine" for his seemingly endless cardio, Dvalishvili, 34, captured the belt this past September with a decision win over O'Malley, then successfully defended it with a thrilling performance over Umar Nurmagomedov in January. Dvalishvili also holds notable wins over former UFC champions Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. Advertisement O'Malley (18-2, 1 NC) has not competed since dropping his belt to Dvalishvili in the UFC's lone visit to the Las Vegas Sphere. Perhaps the biggest name in the UFC bantamweight division, O'Malley, 30, earned his first title shot in 2022 with a thrilling victory over Yan, then memorably knocked out Aljamain Sterling to secure the belt in 2023. O'Malley's lone defense of his strap came in a March 2024 rout of Marlon "Chito" Vera, after which his seven-fight win streak came to a screeching end against Dvalishvili. The evening's co-main event is a battle of pound-for-pound stars as No. 5-ranked Peña (12-5) defends her UFC women's bantamweight belt against No. 4-ranked Harrison (18-1). Peña won the title to kick off her second reign with a split decision over Raquel Pennington this past October, while Harrison — a two-time Olympic champion and two-time PFL champion — is a perfect 2-0 thus far under the UFC umbrella. Advertisement The UFC 316 start time for the preliminary card is at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Disney+. The main card begins live at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pay-per-view. Follow along with Uncrowned's live UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 results, highlights and live blog below, including round-by-round play-by-play for the final seven bouts of the night. Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET) Bantamweight championship: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley Women's bantamweight championship: Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer Bantamweight: Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+, 8 p.m. ET) Flyweight: Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van Advertisement Light heavyweight: Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro Heavyweight: Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Welterweight: Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson Early prelims (ESPN+/Disney+, 6 p.m. ET) 132-pound catchweight: Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong Featherweight: Jeka Saragih vs. Joo Sang Yoo Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz Lightweight: MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
UFC 316 live updates: Results, round-by-round coverage of every fight
UFC 316 live updates: Results, round-by-round coverage of every fight Two bantamweight title fights headline return to New Jersey UFC 316 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday, and you can join us for live round-by-round coverage and official results beginning at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT). UFC 316 takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. In the headliner, bantamweight champion champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) takes on challenger and ex-champ Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a rematch. In the co-feature, women's bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL $1 million champion who is one of the biggest title challenger betting favorites in UFC history. In addition, former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix (20-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his highly anticipated UFC debut after freeing himself from the PFL when he takes on Mario Bautista (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 6 p.m. ET for the early prelims, 8 p.m. ET for the prelims on ESPN and 10 p.m. ET for main card. Enjoy the fights, everyone. UFC 316 lineup MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley – for bantamweight title Champ Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – for women's bantamweight title Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix Kevin Holland vs. Vicente Luque PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Serghei Spivac Andreas Gustafsson vs. Khaos Williams PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
What time is Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison? Walkouts for UFC 316 co-main event
What time is Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison? Walkouts for UFC 316 co-main event Show Caption Hide Caption Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison prediction | UFC 316 breakdown MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom offers his breakdown and prediction for the UFC 316 co-main event. dan tom The time for trash talk is over: Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison will finally be locked in the cage with each other. This UFC women's bantamweight championship bout scheduled for five rounds is taking place Saturday, June 7 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will attempt to make the first defense of her second term as 135-pound champion. She claimed the belt from Raquel Pennington with a controversial split decision win last October at UFC 307. The win came almost two years after Peña lost the belt in a rematch with Amanda Nunes. Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has seemed destined to become UFC champion ever since the former two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka burst onto the MMA scene with the PFL in 2018. Harrison's long road to this moment will finally end after winning her first two UFC fights against Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira. Here are the walkout times for the UFC 316 co-main event between Peña and Harrison. When does the UFC 316 fight card start? The UFC 316 lineup consists of 13 fights. Early prelims start at 6 p.m. ET, prelims at 8 p.m. ET, and the pay-per-view main card at 10 p.m. ET. Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 walkout time As the co-main event, Peña and Harrison are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
