It looks like Brandon Moreno may have found his replacement opponent in Alexandre Pantoja.
Combate is reporting that Pantoja will be replacing Ray Borg at UFC Chile to take on Moreno. Borg was removed from the card due to a family emergency. His infant son has undergone two emergency surgeries.
Pantoja will come into the bout with a professional mixed martial arts record of 16-3. He recently had his 11-fight winning streak snapped by Dustin Ortiz. A victory over Moreno would give him a boost in the flyweight rankings. Pantoja is at the 12th spot, while Moreno holds the seventh position.
Moreno hasn’t competed since Aug. 2017. He fell short in a unanimous decision loss to Sergio Pettis. Moreno also had an 11-fight winning streak that was snapped. A loss to Pantoja could see Moreno drop from the top 10. He has yet to lose two bouts in a row, but neither has Pantoja.
UFC Chile takes place on May 19. The action will be held inside the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. In the main event, former welterweight and middleweight title challenger Demian Maia will share the Octagon with Kamaru Usman.
Also set for the event is a strawweight clash between Alexa Grasso and Tatiana Suarez. Light heavyweights Jared Cannonier and Dominick Reyes are also penciled in to clash on the main card. The highly anticipated UFC debut of Andrea Lee will take place on the main card as she’ll compete against Veronica Macedo. Moreno vs. Pantoja will likely be featured on the FOX Sports 2 portion of the UFC Chile prelims. Moreno was set to meet Borg on the prelims.
Stick with MMANews.com for the latest updates on UFC Chile. When fight night occurs, we’ll be providing live coverage of the event. You can expect weigh-ins, results, highlights, and other post-fight tidbits.
Who are you picking? Brandon Moreno or Alexandre Pantoja?