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In past years, the UFC would have a show called The Thrill and the Agony<\/i>, detailing a look at the winners and losers of fights that took place during pay-per-view events (now just known as numbered cards). The world of MMA has its ups and downs, ebbs and flows, for every fighter \u2013 it happens practically in all sports.<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s UFC event in Mexico<\/a> brought about three fighters in featured contests who, at one point, had a lot of momentum going for them. Now, after their losses, we\u2019re left with plenty of questions about what is next.<\/p>\n Brandon Moreno<\/strong><\/p>\n This was a must-win situation for Brandon Moreno to keep himself relevant at the top of the weight class. He was fighting in front of a native crowd against an unranked opponent \u2013 granted, one who took the fight as an injury fill-in on about a month\u2019s notice. The setup for the rebound after getting knocked out for the first time in his career was perfect.<\/p>\n He lost. And not only did he lose in a shocking upset, but he lost in pretty convincing fashion. Kavanagh\u2019s strikes were quicker, he showed great counter work, and he even rocked Moreno a time or two. The only thing Moreno seemed to have going for him was the clinch game, and even then, he didn\u2019t do much with it. Kavanagh stopped Moreno\u2019s takedown attempts, injured one of his legs, and flat out was in control for most of the 25 minutes.<\/p>\n This is now four losses in six fights for Moreno, stretching back to him dropping the flyweight title to Alexandre Pantojs at UFC 290. Even if he drops only one spot in the UFC rankings, the result is clear \u2013 Moreno, a former two-time champion, is no longer in the flyweight title picture.<\/p>\n Moreno is 32 and will need multiple wins to work his way back up to the upper echelon of flyweight. Does he look to build himself back up through fights with Alex Perez, Tagir Ulanbekov, Charles Johnson, and originally scheduled UFC Mexico City opponent Asu Almabayev? Does he move up to bantamweight?<\/p>\n Brandon Moreno and his team need to have an honest conversation.<\/p>\n That said, Moreno is still in a better position than Marlon Vera. \u201cChito\u201d has now lost four straight and five of his last six. His only win since 2023 was the unanimous decision over Pedro Munhoz that earned him a bantamweight title shot \u2013 one in which he convincingly lost to Sean O\u2019Malley<\/a> at UFC 299.<\/p>\n This may be a hot take considering Vera\u2019s popularity; however, if Moreno is out of the title picture but still somewhat relevant at flyweight, then \u201cChito\u201d is no longer relevant at bantamweight. He\u2019ll be very lucky if he\u2019s still ranked in the top-15. And considering his losing streak and his age (33), he\u2019ll probably get matched up with someone unranked next.<\/p>\n And if Vera loses that fight, then we\u2019re talking realistically about the chance Vera probably gets cut by the UFC.<\/p>\nMarlon Vera<\/h2>\n
Daniel Zellhuber<\/h2>\n