Preview: UFC Fight Night 246 ‘Moreno vs. Albazi’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to Edmonton, Alberta, for the first time in more than five years with UFC Fight Night 246—a card that should provide entertainment and depth at Rogers Place. As far as high-stakes fights are concerned, there isn’t much in terms of Canadian flavor, but the top two bouts could crown title contenders in the UFC’s flyweight divisions. Former champion Brandon Moreno looks to bounce back against rising talent Amir Albazi in the main event, while Erin Blanchfield looks to prove herself against two-time strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas in the co-headliner. Plus, it’s always nice to see Derrick Lewis back in action, particularly since Jhonata Diniz makes for an interesting opponent. Beyond that, some potential showcases for local talent exist, led by Mike Malott taking on Trevin Giles at welterweight and Marc-Andre Barriault facing Dustin Stoltzfus at middleweight.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 246 “Moreno vs. Albazi” preview:

Flyweights

#2 FLW | Brandon Moreno (21-8-2, 9-5-2 UFC) vs. #3 FLW | Amir Albazi (17-1, 5-0 UFC)

ODDS: Moreno (-175), Albazi (+145)

It would have been unthinkable about a year and a half ago, but Moreno suddenly finds himself in the spot of having to prove himself again with a big win. It took a long and winding road for Moreno to reach the flyweight elite, including two stints with the UFC. He took the promotion by storm after a late-notice debut as a raw prospect, but he disappointed in two big fights just as the UFC was tearing down the flyweight division, so he was shown the door. Given Moreno’s talent and his potential as a Mexican star, it was unsurprising that he was one of the UFC’s first calls when it reversed course and reinvested in the division about a year later. “The Assassin Baby” proved ready for the moment, charging up the ranks and earning a title shot against Deiveson Figueiredo at the end of 2020. The two had a nip-tuck war over the course of five rounds, and it’s funny to think that Figueiredo would have won the decision and likely moved on were it not for a foul earlier in the fight. That resulted in a point deduction that ended in the fight in a draw, which in turn led to a rematch and an eventual series of four title fights. Moreno won the rematch, only to lose the belt back to Figueiredo in the third fight. After beating Kai Kara-France for an interim belt while Figueiredo was injured, Moreno finally ended the rivalry for good in January 2023 year, winning their fourth encounter to become flyweight champion once again. With Figueiredo in the rearview mirror, it was a welcome opportunity to see what Moreno could accomplish against fresher competition. The two had essentially locked their respective games into responding to the other’s adjustments, and it was due time for Moreno to renew his approach. His first title defense came against an old foe in Alexandre Pantoja, who had beaten him on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016 and in the 2018 bout that got him cut from the UFC. This was the closest battle of the bunch, but Pantoja once again came out the victor, though with the result being close and the fight being a five-round war that was among the best bouts of 2023, it didn’t figure to be long until Moreno earned his way back to another title opportunity. That path became especially clear when Moreno was tabbed to headline a card in Mexico City in February. Albazi was Moreno’s initial opponent, but he was eventually replaced by Brandon Royval, a man the Fortis MMA product beat back in 2020 to earn his first shot at Figueiredo. It figured to be easy work for Moreno on paper, as he had leaned on his aggression and grappling skill to run through Royval the first time and had the same tools to do so once again, but he instead put on a baffling performance. In the years since the first fight, Royval had pivoted to a range-heavy volume striking game, and while that has been able to throw off opponents before and after, it was a surprise to see it work so well against Moreno, who mostly looked to bomb single strikes from range against the Factory X rep and froze himself out of the bout for long stretches in the process. Moreno still could have won the decision, but it was enough of a coinflip that Royval walked away with the victory, leaving the former champion without much direction. He’s still in the catbird seat for a title shot with a win here, provided Pantoja gets past Kai Asakura in December. Pantoja doesn’t have much in the way of fresh or ready challengers, and Moreno remains near the top of the list in terms of matchups for the champion that are both exciting and marketable. Of course, Moreno has to first win a rebooking against Albazi, and that’s far from a guarantee.

Compared to the ups and downs of Moreno’s career, there’s comparatively little to say about Albazi, who has had a slow and steady rise as the dark horse of the division. Born in Iraq and fighting out of Sweden and England over the course of his career before landing in Las Vegas, Albazi took a while to figure things out on the regional scene, including taking a few fights as a teenager before a four-year layoff that led to his career starting in earnest. From there, “The Prince” flashed a lot of tools, mostly centered around his skills on the mat, before the lone setback of his career against former UFC fighter Jose Torres in 2019—a performance that saw Albazi clearly get thrown off by his counterpart’s consistent pressure. Albazi rebounded and found himself in the UFC shortly thereafter, and for his first few fights, he put in some solid performances against the lower half of the roster. Once he was given his first main event slot against Kara-France in June 2023, he was both impressive and unproven at a high level. Albazi’s eventual split decision victory was a bit controversial—it was a classic case of the overall result being defensible while the judges’ round-by-round scoring was questionable—the main takeaway is that he could hang at a high level, putting together five consistent rounds and doing so in the face of one of flyweight’s hardest punchers. Whatever momentum Albazi had from that result has been dulled thanks to inactivity due to injury, but he should still be a fairly reliable bet to put in five solid rounds. A lot of this fight should come down to what type of approach Moreno takes. Even with those questions, it’s hard to pick against the former champion unless Albazi shows some new flashes. Albazi doesn’t have the size or the tools to freeze Moreno out of the fight like Royval did, and even in an inefficient performance, the Mexican star should stand out as the harder shot-for-shot puncher. Add in that Albazi might run into a wall attempting to do anything to Moreno on the ground, and this seems very much to be the former champion’s fight to lose, with the only worry being that he’s coming off a loss that came in a fight that was his to lose. The pick is Moreno via decision.

Jump To »
Moreno vs. Albazi
Blanchfield vs. Namajunas
Diniz vs. Lewis
Machado vs. Ribeiro
Barriault vs. Stoltzfus
Malott vs. Giles
The Prelims