Brandon Moreno Wins Split Decision Over Joseph Morales at Noche UFC
Brandon Moreno snapped a two-fight losing streak on Saturday, taking a split decision over Joseph Morales in the Noche UFC co-main event. Two judges scored the flyweight bout 30-27 for the former two-time champion, while a third had it 28-29 for Morales at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Moreno improved to 24-10-2 overall and 12-7-2 in the UFC. Morales fell to 14-3 MMA and 3-3 inside the Octagon in the biggest test of his second promotional run.
The Mexican star entered ranked inside the top 10 at 125 pounds after consecutive losses to Tatsuro Taira and Lone’er Kavanagh. Taira stopped him in the second round at UFC 323 in December, then Kavanagh outpointed him over five rounds in Mexico City in February.
Morales, the Ultimate Fighter 33 winner, had not fought since November. He submitted Matt Schnell with a first-round guillotine in that return and spent about 10 months waiting for this step up.
The betting line was a coin flip. Public money even flipped Morales to a slight favorite in some shops, with Moreno trying to protect a ranking that had already slipped after the Taira and Kavanagh fights.
“I am trying to defend my spot in the rankings and Joseph Morales is going to be super excited and super motivated to try to take my position as well,” Moreno said before the fight.
The first round stayed tight. Moreno worked the body, Morales answered with jabs, low kicks, and a takedown, and both men kept landing as they returned to the feet.
The middle five minutes did not separate them cleanly either. Morales had moments in the pocket, Moreno missed on a flashy rolling attack, and the fight still looked even heading into the last round.
Round 3 is where Moreno took the minutes that decided two of the three cards. He landed a combination, put Morales on the canvas, and finished with short ground-and-pound after stuffing a late level change and threatening the neck.
Referee Jason Herzog oversaw a co-main that never became a blowout. MMA Junkie scored the third round for Moreno and called the whole fight close, which made the two 30-27 sweeps stand out against the 29-28 card that went the other way.
A split decision with that spread was always going to draw noise. One judge saw Morales winning two rounds, while the other two gave Moreno every round in a fight that featured takedowns, scrambles, and competitive striking from both sides.
The win still matters for a former champion who needed to stop the slide. Moreno, nicknamed “The Assassin Baby,” became the first fighter from Mexico to win UFC gold when he submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in 2021, and he remains one of the most accomplished names at flyweight.
It does not put him back in a title fight on its own. Joshua Van holds the championship, with Alexandre Pantoja booked against him at UFC 331 on Sept. 19, and several ranked names still sit above Moreno.
For Morales, it is a first setback since winning TUF and beating Schnell. The Team Alpha Male flyweight from Sacramento showed he can hang with a two-time champion, even if the scorecards did not all agree on how close it was.
Moreno had said the biggest change in camp was mental. “Sometimes, you are your own worst enemy,” he said while preparing to defend his place in the rankings on a Mexican Independence Day card.
Noche UFC closed Saturday on Paramount+ with Jean Silva vs. Jose Delgado in the main event, while Moreno leaves Glendale back in the win column and still in the flyweight mix.