Brandon Moreno lost a split decision at home in the main event of UFC Mexico City this past Saturday, and you know that had to be heartbreaking for the former champ. Equally heartbreaking was fellow Mexican star and ex-interim featherweight champ Yair Rodriguez falling in the co-headliner.
What’s next? There are a lot of fun fights out there for both parties, so let’s take a look at how the main card losers could bounce back.
Brandon Moreno
There has been talk in the wake of UFC Mexico City about whether Brandon Moreno is now past his prime, or has been in too many wars. He’s just just 30, mind you, and should have a couple more years left in his prime as a flyweight.
That said, the loss to Brandon Royval, albeit by split decision, came off a lackluster performance by Moreno’s standards. Royval appeared to have the better gas tank and Moreno fought something of a defensive fight in comparison to his norm.
Back-to-back losses means Moreno is out of the title picture for now, with names like Amir Albazi, Manel Kape, and Royval no doubt ahead of him. That means fighting down a bit, and one name that makes sense is Matheus Nicolau. Like Moreno, Nicolau is coming off a loss to Brandon Royval. He was supposed to fight Manel Kape in January, but Kape blew weight and the fight was called off. It hasn’t been rebooked to date, and this match-up might make more sense.
Moreno’s next fight: Matheus Nicolau
Yair Rodriguez
Mexcio’s Yair Rodriguez appeared to be close to a finish in the opening round of UFC Mexico City’s co-main event, but Brian Ortega had other ideas. He mounted an impressive comeback, and wrapped up a choke early in the third round to put Rodriguez away.
Back-to-back losses for Yair will bounce him back a little, much like Moreno. That said those losses came to Alexander Volkanovski in a title fight, and a former title challenger in Ortega. No shame there.
Rankings-wise, Movsar Evloev makes sense. It’s not the loser-versus-loser format, but at this level we can forgo there. Evloev is undefeated and coming off a win over Arnold Allen, but the knock on the Russian is that he’s not a finisher. Rodriguez might very well bring out the best in the former M-1 champ.
Rodriguez’s next fight: Movsar Evloev
Francisco Prado
Francisco Prado suffered just the second loss of his pro career at UFC Mexico City. Unfortunately for Prado, both losses have come inside the UFC octagon, putting him at 1-2 in the organization. On the plus side, his loss to Daniel Zellhuber earned Fight of the Night on Saturday. If you’re going to lose, do it in a Fight of the Night, right?
So, Prado is 50K richer (is 50K even considered rich? Let’s just say more wealthy), took a beating and probably needs some time off. When he comes back, he’s in a key fight, most likely the last on his contract unless he renegotiates off a loss, which is rare. A newcomer might work best, or someone like Tom Nolan, who just lost to Nikolas Motta, works.
Prado’s next fight: Tom Nolan
Sam Hughes
Strawweight Sam Hughes has had an interesting run in the UFC. She started on an 0-3 skid then turned things around to go 3-1 over her next four fights. Saturday, however, she was on the wrong end of a decision loss to Yamin Yauregui, but showed plenty of heart in the fight.
Denise Gomes is 2-2 in the UFC and coming off a loss to Angela Hill. She’s another gritty strawweight and this pairing could be a fun scrap.
Hughes’ next fight: Denise Gomes
Chris Duncan
After starting his UFC run 2-0, Scotland’s Chris Duncan dropped his first bout in the promotion and just second of his career at UFC Mexico City, losing to Manuel Torres.
Lightweight Duncan was supposed to fight Terrance McKinney, but McKinney has a fight booked for May so that will have to wait. The next U.K. card might be an ideal landing spot for Duncan, but against who? How about “Slava Claus” himself, Viacheslav Borshchev, who is coming off a draw against Nazim Sadykhov? Sounds like a fun one.
Duncan’s next fight: Viacheslav Borshchev
