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UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez continues with the co-main event for the men's flyweight title as the champion Brandon Moreno looks to defend his title against Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno is coming off a dominant win to unify the flyweight title when he finished Deiveson Figueiredo meanwhile, Pantoja is riding a three-fight winning streak into his first-ever UFC title shot. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Moreno-Pantoja prediction and pick.
Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) is the reigning and defending flyweight champion that is coming off of a dominant performance against the former champ Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno is one of the fighters that has gotten better and better after every fight. Moreno will be looking to prove that he's gotten better when he takes on a familiar foe in Alexandre Pantoja who's beaten him twice in their careers.
Alexandre Pantoja (25-5) is riding a three-fight winning streak with back-to-back submission wins over top contenders in Alex Perez and Brandon Royval. He battled his way into title contention after losing to Askar Askarov back in 2020 and now gets his first crack at winning UFC gold as he takes on Brandon Moreno for a third time at UFC 290 this Saturday night.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC 290 Odds: Brandon Moreno-Alexandre Pantoja Odds
Brandon Moreno: -194
Alexandre Pantoja: +156
Over 4.5 Rounds: -118
Under 4.5 Rounds: -108
How to Watch Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
TV: ESPN+ PPV
Stream: ESPN+ PPV
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT (Main Card)
Why Brandon Moreno Will Win
Brandon Moreno has progressed a ton since being this young fighter on The Ultimate Fighter. He had a few fights in the UFC against really tough competition then subsequently got cut but made it back to the UFC and is now the reigning and defending Men's Flyweight Champion. It's inspiring and the way he fights now is completely different from what we saw back when he first came into the UFC.
Moreno has exceptional striking and great grappling to go along with it. He gives Pantoja a ton of trouble on the feet if Pantoja isn't able to get the fight to the mat and keep him there. The way that Pantoja has faded in the past if Moreno can make him work hard early and not get finished the longer the fight goes the greater his chances are to retain his flyweight title.
Why Alexandre Pantoja Will Win
Alexandre Pantoja has been a rising contender in the men's flyweight division over the last three years as he comes into his first-ever title shot in the UFC. He is a decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with 10 submission victories under his belt and is coming off back-to-back submission wins. We know going in that Pantoja will look to take Moreno to the mat and submit Moreno for the second time as they go head-to-head for the third time in their careers.
Pantoja has a leg up in their head-to-head matchup with a 2-0 record, while Moreno is a different fighter since they last fought, he can use that experience to really push him in the biggest fight of his career.
Final Brandon Moreno-Alexandre Pantoja Prediction & Pick
This is going to be a fantastic flyweight title fight between two highly skilled fighters. We can expect there to be some tentativeness early on due to the familiarity between them. Pantoja will need to grapple and get the submission early in this fight if he wants to become the next flyweight champion. He has cardio issues and he will not be able to grapple for 25 minutes against the caliber of opponent Brandon Moreno. With that said, it is very unlikely that Moreno gets submitted within the first 15 minutes of the fight and if that doesn't happen expect Moreno to lay some hands-on Pantoja all throughout this fight to a TKO finish midway through this fight.
Final Brandon Moreno-Alexandre Pantoja Prediction & Pick: Brandon Moreno (-194), Under 4.5 Rounds (-108)
