Brandon Moreno to Defend Flyweight Belt Against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290

A trilogy of sorts is on tap for UFC 290, as Brandon Moreno will defend his flyweight crown against Alexandre Pantoja on July 8 in Las Vegas.

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell confirmed the booking to promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday. Freak MMA first reported the title bout. UFC 290 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also features a featherweight championship clash pitting Alexander Volkanovski against Yair Rodriguez. According to ESPN, Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez is expected to be the evening’s headliner, while Moreno vs. Pantoja will serve as the co-main event. That likely means that the rumored heavyweight championship showdown between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic has now been targeted for another date.

Moreno and Pantoja have already squared off twice in MMA, though only one of those was an official bout. Both men were on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and Pantoja submitted Moreno via second-round submission in the reality show’s opening round. That fight, of course, is documented as an exhibition. They crossed paths again at UFC Fight Night 129 in May 2018, when Pantoja emerged with a unanimous decision triumph that led to Moreno briefly parting ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Moreno has emerged as star since then, becoming the UFC’s first Mexican-born champion as part of a four-bout series with Deiveson Figueiredo. “The Assassin Baby” concluded that rivalry with a third-round TKO of the Brazilian in the UFC 283 co-main event on Jan. 21. In addition to a pair of wins against Figueiredo, Moreno owns notable victories over the likes of Kai Kara France (twice), Brandon Royval, Jussier Formiga and Dustin Ortiz.

Pantoja enters the matchup having been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the American Top Team product submitted former title challenger Alex Perez with a first-round neck crank in their bout at UFC 277 last July. His ledger also features triumphs over Royval, Manel Kape, Matt Schnell and Wilson Reis, among others.