Former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno had a successful homecoming, scoring a unanimous decision win over ex-title challenger Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC Mexico.
Moreno and Erceg felt each other out to start before the two picked up their striking pressure. The Mexican favorite landed a strong combination that forced his Australian conterpart back, testing his chin. Erceg landed decent leg kicks, but Moreno showed more power in his strikes and continuously was able to land the right hand.
"The Assassin Baby" continued to work combinations between Erceg's body and head as the second round began. "AstroBoy," however, seemed to answer back by turning up his volume, trying to match Moreno's pressure for a back-and-forth round that could have fallen either way.
The third round was the quietest at this point, but Erceg was able to utilize his boxing and seemed to take control during the course of the round. Moreno re-started his pressure in the fourth round, however, and took over in the championship rounds, even scoring a takedown right before the final horn.
All three judges ultimately scored the fight in favor of Brandon Moreno.
Brandon Moreno has now won back-to-back fights, bouncing back from consecutive split-decision losses against Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval. This fight was his first UFC victory in Mexico.
Steve Erceg, on the other hand, has now lost three straight, going back to his unsuccessful challenge of flyweight champion Pantoja last year at UFC 301.