Brandon Moreno Shows 30 is Too Young for Retirement at UFC Fight Night

Brandon Moreno shocked many when he said he planned to step away from MMA earlier this year. Moreno, who was on a two-fight losing streak, was less than a year removed from being the UFC flyweight champion. Few people actually believed that Moreno was washed up.

The 30-year-old Mexican star looked motivated Saturday night in Edmonton, Canada. During a five-round battle with highly-ranked Amir Albazi, Moreno controlled the fight with his excellent striking. MMAfighting latest news shows that Albazi was returning to the octagon after suffering a neck injury that forced him to withdraw from a previously scheduled fight with Moreno in February.

Moreno, instead, fought Brandon Royval on short notice last February. The fight ended up being a split decision that Moreno was on the wrong side of. Moreno made sure not to leave anything up to chance against Albazi.

Moreno stayed in the pocket and threw out a number of hooks and combinations. Moreno wobbled Albazi a few times but couldn’t score a knockout.

Blanchfield Wears Down Thug Rose

Erin Blanchfield showed one of the most important skills any young fighter can display during her fight with former champion Rose Namajunas. When the fight wasn’t going well for the young American, she didn’t get down on herself. Instead, Blanchfield changed strategies, became more willing to move forward, and grinded her way to a decisive win.

Blanchfield, who is ranked No. 3 at flyweight, looked like she didn’t have the right fight plan for the first two rounds. People looking at MMA breaking news will see that Namajunas stayed at the kickboxing range and picked Blanchfield apart.

However, Blanchfield was able to close the distance in the final two rounds and even landed a few takedowns. Namajunas didn’t have any answers for Blanchfield’s wrestling. The judges gave Blanchfield the final three rounds a narrow win on the scorecards.

Queen of Violence No Match for Jasinavicius

Jasmine Jasudavicius, 35, has become one of the most consistent Canadian women’s fighters on the UFC roster. Given the opportunity to fight in front of her crowd, Jasudavicius produced another memorable moment in the octagon in front of her home fans.

After a competitive first two rounds, Jasudavicius could lean on her grappling to put Ariane (Lipski) da Silva in a bad spot. Jasudavicius worked her way to da Silva’s back during the middle of the third round.

Jasudavicius then wrapped up a brabo choke, which forced da Silva to tap out. It was the third straight victory for Jasudavicius, who collected her third career victory by submission.

Powerbar Gets Drained

Marc-Andre Barriault loves nothing more than getting dragged into a brawl. With Dustin Stoltzfus willing to engage, Barriault appeared in a spot to do some damage. Initially, Stoltzfus had Barriault on the mat and was hoping to wrap up a submission.

But Barriault wasn’t willing to stay on the ground. He battled back to his feet and chose to engage in a wild, striking affair along the side of the cage. Both men were able to land strikes in the firefight, according to the best MMA news website.

But Stoltzfus connected with a thunderous right hand that put Barriault out of the fight and on his back. Stoltzfus followed up with ground and pound until the referee stepped in to waive off the fight.

New Weight Class Doesn’t Phase Charles Jourdain

Charles Jourdain has spent his career in MMA searching for his proper weight class. After previously fighting at lightweight and featherweight, Jourdain chose to go to bantamweight to take on Victor Henry. Jourdain may have found a place where he could stick around for a while.

Jourdain had fun during his fight with Henry. In the second round, he was able to submit Henry, who had never been stopped before in his career. Jourdain then fired his mouthpiece into the crowd to celebrate.

Jourdain joked with the crowd after the fight that he wanted whoever caught his mouthpiece to throw it back in the octagon because they are expensive.

Malott Changes Style, Gets Back in Win Column

Mike Malott may need to spend more time working on getting over his surprising loss to Neil Magny earlier this year. While Malott got back into the win column with a decision win over Trevin Giles, he looked like a different fighter. Malott didn’t appear as willing to take chances.

Malott stayed at range and fired off kicks, mostly to Giles’ lower body. Malott finished with less than 30 significant strikes connecting to Giles’ head. It was a disappointing performance for Malott, who had been known for his exciting finishes during his career.

Malott did get the decision, but he will need to take more chances to get opportunities for more exciting fights going forward.

Zalal Continues Comeback Story

Youssef Zalal is making the most of having a second chance to be in the UFC. Zalal was released from the UFC after going on a four-fight streak without a win. After picking up three wins on the regional scene, Zalal has been a different fighter since he returned in March 2024.

Zalal has picked up three consecutive wins, all by submission. Against Jack Shore, Zalal set up the finishing sequence with a vicious knee. Zalal now has nine submission wins in his career and looks like a candidate for future success.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:

Light heavyweight, Brendson Ribeiro win by split decision over Caio Machado, 29-28 (Ribeiro x2), 29-28 (Machado)

Heavyweight, Alexander Romanov win by decision over Rodrigo Nascimento, 30-27 (x3)

Bantamweight, Serhiy Sidey win by split decision over Garrett Amrfield, 29-28 (Sidey x2), 29-28 (Armfield)

Bantamweight, Cody Gibson win by decision over Chad Anheliger, 30-27 (x3)

Women’s flyweight, Jamey-Lyn Hort win by split decision over Ivana Petrović, 30-27, 29-28 (Hort), 29-27 (Petrovic)

Bantamweight, Aiemann Zahabi win by decision over Pedro Munhoz, 30-27, 29-28 (x2)

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By Dean McHugh.