Another big fight has been added to the UFC 227 card, and I’ll give my thoughts on it in today’s MMA odds and ends, along with a new bout added to UFC Chile.
Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja, UFC Fight Night 129
Following the withdrawal of Ray Borg due to a family situation, Brandon Moreno will now fight late-notice replacement Alexandre Pantoja at UFC Fight Night 129, which goes down Saturday, May 19 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. The UFC has confirmed the bout. Moreno (14-4) is 3-1 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision loss to Sergio Pettis. Pantoja (18-3) is 2-1 in the UFC and was recently defeated via decision by Dustin Ortiz. Both guys are solid fighters with lots of upside but I will have to lean towars Moreno in this one. He’s the younger fighter and has more room for improvement in his game, plus he has had a full training camp for this date.
Derek Brunson vs. Antonio Carlos Junior, UFC 227
A middleweight battle between Derek Brunson and Antonio Carlos Junior is the latest addition to UFC 227, which is set to take place Saturday, August 4 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The bout was announced on UFC Tonight, with the UFC making the match after Brunson publicly called out Junior on Twitter. Brunson (18-6) is 9-4 in the UFC and is coming off of a KO loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Junior (10-2, 1 NC) is 7-2, 1 NC and is currently riding a five-fight win streak with a submission win over Tim Boetsch in his last fight. This bout is a really interesting matchup given Brunson’s wrestling ability to go along with his KO power on the feet against Junior’s elite ground game. Junior has looked amazing as of late and is a guy who I can see making a run for the title. That being said, Brunson is extremely dangerous. This is a tough one to call, but given Brunson’s ranking and experience against elite competition, I would slightly lean in his direction to get the win in this one.
