Ray Borg is ready to rebound from his flyweight title loss.
Back in Oct. 2017, Borg challenged Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 125-pound king Demetrious Johnson in the co-main event of UFC 216. Borg ended up being submitted in the fifth round. “Mighty Mouse” broke Anderson Silva’s record for most successful consecutive UFC title defenses.
Before the bout, Borg had gone 5-1 in his last six outings. Two of those bouts earned him “Performance of the Night” bonuses. He’ll look to snag another one when he meets Brandon Moreno on May 19 at UFC Chile.
Borg was scheduled to meet Moreno earlier this month at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, NY. An incident involving Conor McGregor changed those plans. Borg suffered corneal abrasions due to glass shards going into his eyes.
Before the incident, MMA News spoke to Borg during a media day session. Borg liked how he matches up with Moreno:
“It’s great man. It’s a good style match-up coming off of the fight with DJ. I think we’re very well prepared for this. We’ve had an extra two months (from) when it was originally scheduled.”
In a test of skills, Borg feels he has “The Assassin Baby” beat. Whether it’s on the feet, in the clinch, or on the ground, Borg isn’t lacking in confidence.
“Skill set wise, I truly feel like I’m better than him in any department really. You name a single department that he’s good at and I’m better. I think the only thing he brings is he just surprises people. He’s just sneaky. One moment people let him off the hook because they think, ‘oh this kid’s not that good I’m just dominating him.’ So they let him off the hook for a quick second and he surprises you with a head kick or submission or whatever it is. But that’s not my type of fighting and I don’t let off the pressure at all. So I feel like I’m better than him anywhere.”
That doesn’t mean that the third ranked UFC flyweight is looking past his opponent.
“No, not at all. I don’t take anybody lightly. I’m gonna treat him like any other fighter I’ve ever prepared for. Just go in there and do my thing from start to finish.”
A win for Moreno could catapult him near the top of the flyweight rankings. He currently sits at the seventh position. One would think he’d move up at least two spots with a victory.
At the same time, Borg realizes what a win would do for him. If he can rebound from a title loss with a convincing victory, it could put him in a position to fight a highly touted competitor such as the winner of Joseph Benavidez vs. Sergio Pettis.
“Yeah I definitely think it puts me back in the mix. I want to win this fight very impressively so it does put me back in the mix. If I just kind of half-ass this fight and win a decision it’s just gonna be like, ‘okay he did great, fine whatever.’ But I just wanna go in there and beat the sh*t out of this kid so I can truly make a statement and then after that we’ll see. I’m a fan of Benavidez, so no pressure or nothing (against) Benavidez but I don’t want Benavidez to win because if I beat Moreno and Pettis beat him, that sets me up with a fight with Pettis. If we’re going to talk futuristically, I want Pettis next.”
Pettis vs. Benavidez is set to take place on June 9 at UFC 225. Borg revealed who he gives the edge to and why.
“I think Pettis has the advantage. His wrestling’s getting better and as hard as it is to say, Benavidez is getting older and he’s not quite the same. Hell, he’s been in some wars. He’s done a lot for our division, he’s done a lot for the sport and the lighter guys. I just don’t think that he’s quite at that fighting stage at what he used to be when he was fighting Dominick Cruz and fighting all those guys. I think Pettis being so long and Pettis does a really good job at keeping his range with people, so I give the edge to Pettis.”
You can watch the full interview below:
Do you think Ray Borg can get past Brandon Moreno?
