Top UFC flyweight contenders Brandon Moreno and Alex Perez are expected to fight at UFC 255, which will go down on November 21 in a to-be-determined location.
News of this bout was first reported by Spanish-language outlet Milenio.
Moreno and Perez are two of the top contenders in the UFC flyweight division. Moreno is riding high after big decisions wins over Kai Kara-France and Jussier Formiga. Perez, meanwhile, burst into title contention with a decision win over Mark De La Rosa, a submission win over Jordan Espinosa, and a TKO victory over Formiga.
While both Moreno and Perez have arguably earned cracks at the new UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, that opportunity has instead been awarded to former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, who has yet to compete in the division. The Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt fight is expected to serve as the UFC 255 main event, so the implications of this Moreno vs. Perez fight being added to the bill are difficult to ignore.
If either Figueiredo or Garbrandt is forced out of their targeted fight, it seems highly likely that either Moreno or Perez will be called upon to step in and replace them.
Perez, for his part, believes he deserves a title shot before Moreno or fellow flyweight contender Askar Askarov.
“If you look at our three resumes, we all fought top-10 guys,” Perez told BJPENN.com recently. “I fought Espinosa, I finished him, Moreno fought Kai, he went to a decision. Askar fought Elliott, decision. You look at the next fight. Jussier, Brandon won a decision, I finished him. Askar went to Pantoja and got a decision. Askar is 2-0-1 in the UFC, I’m 6-1 only loss was to Joe, Brandon is on his second stint in the UFC. I’m finishing guys and to finish guys in the lighter weight classes is something you don’t see. I’m finishing guys on the feet and on the ground.
“I just think I’m exciting to watch,” Perez added. “People always see me going for the finish, I’m not a boring fighter. I’m not saying they are boring either, I think all flyweight fights are exciting because we have the gas tank,” he later added. “I just think to finish guys in the lighter division is hard and I’m doing it and against top competition as well.”
Who do you think will win this dynamite flyweight scrap between Alex Perez and Brandon Moreno?