Former champion Brandon Moreno and rising contender Amir Albazi have made weight for Saturday’s UFC Edmonton main event.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] are one step closer to their UFC Fight Night 246 headliner after making weight Friday.
Former champion Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) returns from a self-imposed hiatus from competition when he takes on Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who is returning from some serious health issues, in a five-round bout Saturday at Rogers Place (ESPN+).
First, though, the pair had to hit the non-title flyweight limit during official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel. Moreno was the first fighter to come to the scale during the one-hour window and was 125.5 pounds. Albazi was waiting right behind him and registered 125.5, as well.
Check out the video above to see Moreno and Albazi make weight for the UFC Fight Night 246 main event.
Could the winner of Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi get the next title shot at flyweight? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”
UFC returns this weekend with a Fight Night event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which features two very important flyweight bouts.
On the men’s side, former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] returns from a short break from MMA to welcome [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] back to competition after a series of surgeries. On the women’s side, ex-UFC strawweight titleholder [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] looks to extend her winning streak by taking on young contender [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag].
Who will leave UFC Fight Night 246 with their hands raised? Could the respective winners in each flyweight bout potentially get the next shot at the title in their divisions?
MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom, Danny Segura, and host “Gorgeous” George preview the main and co-main event of UFC Fight Night 246 and look at the potential upside for the winners of Saturday’s card.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
It’s hard to know exactly where former champ Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi are at this point in their careers.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC Fight Night 246 main event between [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag].
Supplemental info:
+ Former UFC flyweight champion
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ Multiple grappling accolades
+ 5 KO victories
+ 11 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Accurate left hook
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Hard leg and head kicks
^ Works well off of the lead side
+ Improved wrestling ability
+ Good transitional grappler
^ Solid scrambles and submissions
Supplemental info:
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt
+ Multiple grappling accolades
^ In and out of the gi
+ 5 KO victories
+ 9 submission wins
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Solid sense of range
^ Good eyes in exchanges
+ Dangerous right hand
+ Hard leg kicks
+ Solid wrestling ability
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Superb back control
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi point of interest: Flyweight fisticuffs
Jul 8, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Brandon Moreno (red gloves) fights Alexandre Pantoja (blue gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
The main event in Edmonton features a showdown between top-ranked flyweights, [autota]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag].
Although Albazi was a prospect who was initially hailed for his grappling accolades, the Iraq-born fighter has shown a natural aptitude for striking since stepping onto the UFC scene.
Albazi does well when it comes to keeping an active and educated lead hand, displaying a consistent feinting or prodding presence.
Offensively, this allows Albazi to connect punches and play off of prior work by hooking off of his jabs and so forth. Defensively, Albazi’s feinting presence helps draw out his opponent’s reactions which, in turn, can lead to some crucial counter opportunities.
Always dangerous to get too predictable with your head movement and counters. pic.twitter.com/iO7S5UaJWn
Albazi also appears to have excellent eyes in exchanges, which is something that surely contributes to his solid sense of range. I’ll be curious to see if Albazi looks to control leg kick traffic, but he, too, will need to be careful about the potential counters coming from Moreno’s way.
Moreno, who initially stepped onto the UFC scene as more of a grapple-first fighter, has since developed into a more complete and technical striking threat as he’s matured.
Still only 30 years of age, Moreno continues to display almost unshakable composure, win or lose, almost as if he’s determined to finish the fight stronger than his foe. But when you look beyond the brief, brash moments that allow his character to shine, you can see a more mature countering game at play.
Always a fan of the left hook (both coming forward and off the counter), Moreno does a much better job of variating both his timing and targets, often working them off of a jab. The theme of lead-side savvy travels fluently for the Mexican fighter in the way that Moreno attaches lead-leg kicks to his combinations when feeling in stride.
Moreno also has a knack for navigating extended exchanges, but I’m not sure how much he’ll want to do that given the potential level-changing counters that lay in wait.
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi breakdown: Potential grappling threats
Aug 20, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Amir Albazi (red gloves) fights Francisco Figueiredo (blue gloves) during UFC 278 at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Considering that grappling is a large part of Albazi’s game, do not be shocked if he is the first to engage in the grappling department.
As mentioned in the previous section, Albazi is a fighter who initially excelled in the grappling arts. A tenacious competitor, Albazi’s aggression shines through in transition – something he seems to be applying to his wrestling repertoire.
Even though Albazi has the athletic ability to shoot in the open, his more effective setups and takedowns seem to come against the fence or in the clinch. And since Albazi appears to have spent this last training camp at Fight Ready MMA, I suspect those takedown tools will only be sharper this Saturday.
Luckily for Moreno, the Mexican is far from a slouch in the grappling department.
Starting off his career as more of a jiu-jitsu fighter, Moreno smartly swam toward the wrestling side of things (from an offensive standpoint) after being afforded the chance to train stateside through the UFC’s former developmental program.
Although Moreno was still not beyond being taken down or scoring submissions off his back, he offered plenty of glimpses of improvement during his first run with the promotion.
Moreno has been much more aggressive on the feet during this second stint, but doesn’t seem to be ignoring the other parts of his game. As far as grappling and wrestling scrambles go, Moreno was able to come out on top of stanzas against some of the division’s best grapplers in Jussier Formiga and Askar Askarov (who he clearly beat, in my opinion).
But for as good as Moreno’s grappling is concerned, he may want to pick his spots wisely with a fighter like Albazi.
Albazi is an avid back-taker with fantastic controls from the rear mount. Whether Albazi’s opting to lock down opponents from safer rear-riding positions or utilizing crab rides to transition, the Iraqi-born fighter does a great job at staying behind his opponent’s knees and elbows whenever possible (a quiet key to look for in good grapplers).
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the former champion, listing Moreno -172 and Albazi +134 via FanDuel.
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi prediction, pick
Considering that Moreno is the more proven product (in general and over five rounds), it’s not a big shock to see the Mexican fighter favored in this spot. However, it’s hard to know exactly where either fighter is at this point in their career.
Outside of an insane slew of title fights since the pandemic, Moreno has also experienced multiple camp changes in said time. Whereas Albazi, who has had to overcome some recent health scares, has also shifted his training camp ahead of his contest.
The larger octagon and 25-minute time frame should favor Moreno on paper, but I worry that the Mexican fighter’s cage positioning puts him in prime operating space for Albazi.
Although Moreno is not beyond stepping on the gas and taking initiatives of his own, he traditionally likes to counter and can be pushed into playing between the fence and inner-black octagon lines.
Should Moreno allow Albazi to take the initiative early, then I suspect that Albazi can draw out the former champ’s hooks and get off takedown entries along the cage en route to banking some early rounds. And if Albazi shows the pacing improvements that typically come with the second swings at five-round affairs, then I believe we’ll be in for a competitive fight from start to finish.
Despite usually siding with the more proven products, I find myself fading my usual trends given how god-awful my picks have been this year. I wouldn’t mind being wrong as a fan of Moreno, but I’ll be semi-reluctantly siding with Albazi to edge out another decision by having the more effective grappling and landing the more eye-catching shots.
Prediction: Albazi by decision
Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi start time, where to watch
As the main event, Moreno and Albazi are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 10:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on ESPN+.
The UFC Edmonton main and co-main event matchup faced off for the first time in the chilly outdoors of Canada.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – The UFC Fight Night 246 headlining bouts of [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] and [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] had a scenic stare down Thursday.
The pair of flyweight bouts are both scheduled for five rounds, and go down Saturday at Rogers Arena and stream on ESPN+.
All sides have been respectful toward one another in the lead-up to the event, and that remained the case when they engaged in official staredowns in the chilly outdoors of Edmonton.
Watch the video above to see the faceoffs for Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) vs. Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Blanchfield (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) vs. Namajunas (13-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) before UFC Fight Night 246.
Two new rules will debut at UFC Edmonton. Check out what the fighters have to say about these tweaks.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Two new rules will make their UFC debut Saturday at Rogers Place as the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) voted this past July to implement them beginning Nov. 1.
For the first time in the history of the Unified Rules of MMA, 12-6 elbows will be allowed at UFC Fight Night 246. Additionally, a “grounded fighter” is redefined as an athlete who has any part of their body besides their hands or feet on the ground.
Wednesday, MMA Junkie asked many of the event’s top participants for their thoughts on the changes from the perspective of a fighter.
Check out what they had to say about the new rules in the compilation video above.
Amir Albazi “was struggling” because of serious health issues, and he’s thankful to be headlining vs. Brandon Moreno at UFC Edmonton.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – It’s been a while since [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] was last in action.
Almost a year-and-a-half later, Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will finally resume his career when he takes on former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC Fight Night 246 on Saturday. The road back to fighting has been a rocky one. The Iraqi fighter had to undergo a pair of surgeries to address some serious health issues that put his UFC career in jeopardy.
“Before my Kai Kara-Fance fight, I was struggling with some health issues,” Albazi told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 246 media day. “I didn’t really know what it was, but after my fight it showed that I had something called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). That’s the medical name for it. It’s basically irregular heart beat. My heart rate would go up to 239, so I had to do a heart surgery.”
The problems for Albazi didn’t stop in the summer of 2023. After defeating Kai Kara-France, Albazi was scheduled to fight Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) in Mexico City this past February. However, he had to pull out from the bout to address another health issue.
“After the heart surgery, I kept training for the fight against Brandon Moreno in Mexico City, and then my left arm literally stopped,” Albazi said. “I couldn’t lift my arm up, I couldn’t jab, I couldn’t do anything, but I still kept training. … After I got my first MRI, the first doctor said, ‘You shouldn’t be fighting anymore. Find a 9-to-5.’ I kept going to different doctors and when the UFC doctors found out, they literally pulled me out of the fight and I had to go straight into surgery. They told me (I was) one punch away from getting paralyzed. So after that surgery, here I am. It’s the longest break of my career.”
After having neck surgery, Albazi had to wait six months until he could begin training again. He now feels healthy and thankful to do what he loves once again.
“To be honest, it feels amazing, and I’m just grateful and happy to finally be back in another fight week,” Albazi said. “Also, I’m a main event, so this means a lot, and it’s a great opportunity for me to put my stamp back on this weight class and show people what I’m made of and show people what I can do in this division.”
An importan flyweight fight headlines the UFC event Nov. 9.
An important flyweight fight is back on the UFC schedule.
Former titleholder [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] will battle [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in the five-round main event of the UFC Fight Night event Nov. 2 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the headliner Tuesday on social media.
Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) and Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) were initially scheduled to fight in Mexico City in February. However, Albazi withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Brandon Royval, who upset Moreno by split decision.
The defeat was Moreno’s second in a row and came after a split decision title challenge loss to Alexandre Pantoja. Mexico’s biggest MMA star, Moreno’s popularity remains high despite the recent skid.
Albazi enters his second UFC main event on a six-fight winning streak. He most recently competed in June 2023 when he defeated Kai Kara-France by split decision. Albazi has since began training at Fight Ready MMA in Scottsdale, Ariz.
With the addition, the UFC’s Edmonton Fight Night lineup now includes:
Amir Albazi is ready to jump back into the UFC title picture.
ABU DHABI – [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] is ready to jump back into the UFC title picture.
Winner of six straight, Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was scheduled to face former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 237 in February, but was forced out due to a neck injury which required surgery.
Albazi is willing to rebook his fight with Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC), or take on anyone in the UFC’s flyweight rankings to cement himself as No. 1 contender.
“Right now, (Moreno) would make the most sense, but I don’t mind fighting even lower down in the rankings,” Albazi told MMA Junkie. “Anyone that wants to fight, I’m right here, I’m waiting. I’m going to show you why I’m No. 3 in the world.”
UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) already holds wins over top 10-ranked flyweights Moreno, Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, Alex Perez, and Steve Erceg.
Albazi would present a fresh challenge, and the 30-year-old thinks he has the ability and skills to dethrone Pantoja.
“I’m different than anyone else he fought,” Albazi said. “He fought almost the whole division and beat the whole division, and I think that’s why I deserve the title shot – me and Tatsuro Taira, who’s also new in the mix. Kai Asakura, they signed him, but I think I match up perfectly with him.
“I don’t think his jiu-jitsu is better is mine. I think I’m a better striker than him. I think I carry more punching power than him. So stylistically for me, it’s a perfect matchup. If I get that shot, I would love to show people what I’m talking about.”
UFC flyweight contender Amir Albazi has been frustrated sitting on the sidelines but is nearing his return.
UFC flyweight contender [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] has been frustrated sitting on the sidelines but is nearing his return.
Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) hasn’t competed since edging out Kai Kara-France in his first UFC main event last June. The win positioned him into title contention, but the 30-year-old has been forced to take a step back after two surgeries.
Albazi withdrew from his UFC Fight Night 237 main event vs. Brandon Moreno in February due to a neck injury, which required surgery. He is gearing for a comeback this fall.
“I’ll be ready to go in September, so that’s the plan,” Albazi told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m almost fully healed. I would say I’m 85 percent, 90 percent back to fighting. So, I can’t wait. It’s been a tough journey so far. I had two surgeries back to back. I’m just excited, motivated, and ready to come back in the cage and do what I do best.”
With rising contenders such as Muhammad Mokaev, Manel Kape and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] emerging, Albazi feels like the forgotten contender.
“It’s been so, so hard to deal with this,” Albazi said. “I had a heart surgery back in November actually, so imagine coming out of a heart surgery, start training, getting into a camp, fighting Moreno for the next title contender, and then I get this, and I have to do another surgery for my neck.
“So, I was feeling like it was hitting me everywhere where I see guys just fighting and fighting and fighting. But this just motivates me to get back in and actually be more active than ever.”
With Mokaev facing Kape at UFC 304 and Kara-France taking on Steve Erceg at UFC 305, Albazi is open to undefeated Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next.
“I haven’t been in the cage for a long time, so of course people are not going to think about me just yet until I fight again,” Albazi said. “But I think he (Taira) needs one more fight with someone in the top five, top six.
Maybe the winner of Mokaev and Manel Kape, or if they give him Moreno, Royval, anyone that’s kind of battle tested. So then after that fight, yeah sure, why not? The guy keeps winning, the guy is good so – or put him against me. I’m ready for that challenge, too.”
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,476, the guys welcome in UFC guests [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] and [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag], discuss the UFC 303 and PFL 6 results, the latest news, and more. Tune in!
