Over the past few years, UFC has held shows such as: thrill and agonyWe take a closer look at the winners and losers of fights that occurred during pay-per-view events (now known as number cards). In the world of MMA, there are ups and downs, ebbs and flows for every fighter. This happens in virtually every sport.
This weekend’s UFC event in Mexico featured three fighters who were once gaining massive momentum. Now, after the loss, we are left with many questions about what’s next.
Brandon Moreno
This was a must-win situation for Brandon Moreno to stay atop his weight class. He was fighting against an unranked opponent in front of a local crowd. Of course, this was someone who had been fighting to compensate for an injury about a month ago. After being eliminated for the first time in my career, my preparation for the rebound was perfect.
He lost. And not only did he lose in a shocking defeat, but he lost in quite convincing fashion. Kavanagh’s striking was quicker and showed great counter work, even rocking Moreno once or twice. The only thing Moreno had going for him was the clinch game, and even then he didn’t do much with it. Kavanagh blocked Moreno’s takedown attempt, injured one of his legs, and was in complete control for most of the 25 minutes.
This now brings Moreno’s record to six fights and four losses since losing the flyweight title to Alexandre Fantois at UFC 290. Even if he falls just one spot in the UFC rankings, the results are clear. Moreno, a former two-time champion, is no longer in the flyweight title picture.
Moreno is 32 years old and needs several wins to return to the top ranks of the flyweight division. Is he looking to redeem himself with fights against Alex Perez, Tagir Ulanbekov, Charles Johnson and his originally scheduled UFC Mexico City opponent Asu Almabayev? Does he move up to bantamweight?
Brandon Moreno and his team need to have an honest conversation.
Marlon Vera
That said, Moreno is still in a better position than Marlon Vera. “Chito” has now lost four straight and five of his last six. His only win since 2023 was a unanimous decision over Pedro Munhoz, where he won the bantamweight title. For this title, he lost decisively to Sean O’Malley at UFC 299.
Considering Vera’s popularity, this could be a hot response. But while Moreno is out of the title picture but still somewhat relevant at flyweight, “Chito” is no longer relevant at bantamweight. He will be very lucky if he still makes the top 15. And considering his losing streak and age (33 years old), he will likely be matched with an unranked player next time.
And if Vera loses that fight, we’re realistically talking about the possibility of Vera being out of the UFC.
Daniel Zellhuber
Do you remember when the name people were paying attention to in 2024 was Daniel Zellhuber? In February of that year, he defeated Francisco Prado at UFC Mexico City Fight of the Night, and in September he won Fight of the Year with Esteban Livovic at UFC 2: UFC 306.
Even though he lost to Ribovics, it seemed pretty certain that Zellhuber could be considered a future Mexican-born star in the UFC. Now, not only has he lost three games in a row, he’s lost the favor of fans, and he may be just one fight away from earning the axe.
I don’t want to take away from Greene King’s amazing performance at age 39. He’s showing he can still go. But Zellhuber seemed lost. Green’s mobility served him well, and at times he honestly looked faster than Zellhuber! If the only thing you can do against the green is the buggy choke, you’re in trouble.
Zellhuber did the classic setup of defeating notable names to build momentum given his two veteran opponents, but looked disappointing, losing both times against Green and Michael Johnson.
