3/30/25: Brandon Moreno Out-Performs Steve Erceg, Wins In Front of Home Crowd
Also: Noche UFC announced for Guadalajara
Hello! Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is shorter than usual, as it’s just covering the UFC Mexico City card from last night and all of the headlines that emerged from it. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with a busy issue previewing the week and discussing the latest RIZIN developments.
For now, let’s dig into the latest fight news. Here’s what happened last night in Mexico City.
Former Flyweight Champ Brandon Moreno Takes Scorecard Nod Over Steve Erceg Following Stand-up Showdown
Brandon Moreno can finally say he won a UFC fight in his home country of Mexico.
Despite being one of the country’s most successful MMA names, Moreno had gone winless on home soil during his UFC stints, previously attaining two losses and one draw. At least, that was until Saturday, when the former UFC Flyweight Champion had a successful five-round showing against fellow contender Steve Erceg, out-working him on the feet to walk away with a solid scorecard win.
The victory headlined a card from the Arena CDMX in Mexico City this weekend.
A trio of official scores reflecting 49-46 makes it seem as if the fight was a wash for Moreno in front of his supporters. In reality, it was 25 minutes of hard work against Erceg, methodically picking his shots and doing enough to edge-out rounds until he secured an adequate lead, something he didn’t fully attain until the fourth frame had concluded.
Moreno opened the fight with a successful first round, stunning Erceg with an overhand right in the first few minutes.
It became clear early that the headliner was going to be a battle of two different striking styles: The high-volume yet lower-impact gameplan of Erceg, versus the louder and more dramatic punches from Moreno. While Erceg had loads of jabs, leg kicks, and crosses, Moreno provided much more pronounced strikes, which looked more devastating when they landed: Wild hooks, overhand punches, and quick combinations.
It was the busy style of Erceg which led the fight through rounds two and three, earning him his sole round on all official scorecards. After a slow-paced third stanza, Moreno took over the fight on the feet.
Moreno settled into the flow of the fight for the final 10 minutes of action, pushing Erceg back with long combinations of shots, including his wailing punches. Erceg continued to answer back and score with his own clean strikes—even out-landing Moreno in all rounds, per official UFC statistics—but his moments were less convincing to the judges.
While it was a hard-fought main event, it was quite clear after five rounds who was more likely to get the scorecard nod. The win keeps Moreno as one of the flyweight division’s best contenders, at the very least causing him to maintain his #2 spot in the division.
Moreno fell out of the division’s title picture a little over a year ago, dropping his belt to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023 and then losing a bout to now top-ranked contender Brandon Royval. Saturday was his second high-profile win since that slight slump, building off a five-round clinic he put together against Amir Albazi in November.
With his spot as one of the best flyweights in the world intact, Moreno hopes that his latest win can earn him a rematch against current champ Pantoja. Concocting a fantasy booking scenario, Moreno wished that he could possibly fight for the title as part of the third-ever Noche UFC card, which was announced for September 13th in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday night.
“Who really knows what I deserve? I don’t know what I deserve,” he said during his post-fight interview. “But man, I really believe I can move the needle and go for the pay-per-view to Guadalajara.”
It’s hard to guess who Pantoja might face next. There are few options for original opponents for him, making it likely that his next challenge will be a repeat, like Moreno or Royval, whom he both beat in 2023. Both have rebuilt themselves with a pair of wins since then.
Some could reason that Royval’s win over Moreno makes him more qualified. Others might argue that Moreno’s history of fighting at a championship level, being the man who Pantoja dethroned to start his run, might give him a good reason for another chance. In the coming months, we’ll likely see who UFC has decided will get the next crack at the 125-pound king.
Eighth-ranked flyweight Erceg has now suffered three straight losses in the UFC, albeit against three different top-five names in the 125-pound division. Erceg came into the UFC hot, winning three straight fights in less than a year, but has since suffered defeats to Pantoja, Kai Kara-France and Moreno. While it was a trio of tough assignments, three losses in a row is never ideal.
Here are some other stories that broke during UFC Mexico City:
Yes, you read that correctly in the report above: Noche UFC—what has recently become an annual tradition for the promotion to host a card on the weekend closest to Mexican Independence Day—will return for a third year. After the past two shows took place in Las Vegas (one notably going down at the high-tech Sphere), the next lineup will head to Guadalajara, Mexico on September 13th this year. The 2023 Noche event was a “Fight Night,” but last year’s was a pay-per-view. This begs the question: Which will it be in 2025? UFC’s official schedule has the September 13th card listed with the alternate title of UFC 320, suggesting that it’s likely a PPV once again.
Fighters representing Mexico went seven for nine on the night, making it quite a successful appearance for the country. Here are some highlights:
Manuel Torres (16-3) scored a brutal stoppage win in the co-main event of the night, dropping Drew Dober (27-15) with a two-punch combo and then delivering a long series of hammerfist strikes. Referee Mike Beltran was quite late to stop the fight, with a defenseless Dober taking way too many shots before the bout actually ended. The fight put Torres back into the win column after suffering his first UFC loss in September, getting stopped by Ignacio Bahamondes. He has now won four of his five UFC appearances in the first round.
Flyweight Edgar Chairez (12-6) also had a quick win on the main card, dropping CJ Vergara (12-6-1), then locking in a rear naked choke for a submission win in just two and a half minutes. The win, which puts Chairez back on track after a September loss to Joshua Van, was an emotional one. He noted afterward that the fight was dedicated to his grandfather, who had passed away recently. He noted that his grandfather helped him pay for a surgery last year.
Loopy Godinez (13-5) held onto her 11th-ranked spot in the strawweight division in one of the more memorable prelim fights of the night, turning back a game Julia Polastri (13-5) via unanimous decision. Godinez did the best impersonation of her younger siblings, Canadian national team wrestlers Ana and Karla, during rounds one and two, controlling Polastri with massive slam takedowns and dominant ground work. She had to survive a tough final frame, seemingly fading cardio-wise and struggling to keep her wrestling gameplan going. This meant she had to toughen out the final moments of the bout on the feet, getting marked up by an incredibly aggressive Polastri. The win was an important one for Godinez, bouncing back after 2024 losses to Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba.
It was a great night to be a newcomer: The two fresh faces to UFC programming both left Mexico City with a win:
Former Combate Global Bantamweight Champion David Martinez (12-1) needed less than five minutes to secure his first win, catching Saimon Oliveira (18-6) with a solid combination. After stunning Oliviera with a counter right, Martinez floored the Brazilian contender with a knee to the head. His killer instinct was shown afterward, landing wild ground and pound strikes until the bout was stopped. Martinez has now pieced together eight consecutive wins since 2021, including his “Contender Series” performance from last October.
Cameroon’s Ateba Gautier (7-1) had a dominant UFC debut in the featured prelim, backing up a tough Jose Medina (11-5) with damaging punches and then dropping him with a hard knee to the head three and a half minutes into the fight. Gautier was already known for his explosive finishing style before making his first UFC walk this week, piecing together a run of five consecutive stoppage wins since 2022. Last year, he handed Japanese prospect Yura Naito his first pro loss on the “Contender Series,” earning a brutal second-round knockout to secure a UFC contract. At 22, Gautier is the youngest active middleweight on the UFC roster by five years.
Kevin Borjas (10-3) stopped the momentum of Mexican star Ronaldo Rodrigues (17-3), using his slick boxing to nearly sweep scorecards and walk away with a decision win. Borjas dropped Rodrigues twice with right hands in the first round before settling into a solid counter-boxing gameplan later in the fight, allowing him to cruise to a decision victory. The flyweights entered this week with significantly different levels of momentum: “Lazy Boy” Rodriguez was coming off a pair of UFC wins from 2024, including a Sphere victory over Ode Osbourne. Borjas was in more of a must-win situation after losing his two previous UFC bouts, albeit against a pair of tough names (Alessandro Costa and Joshua Van).
One of the most anticipated bouts of the evening fell through just a few hours before the prelims kicked off: “Contender Series” star Joe Pyfer (13-3) was pulled from a matchup against long-time contender Kelvin Gastelum (19-9), citing illness. Pyfer bounced back from his first UFC loss last June with a 95-second finish win, knocking out Marc-Andre Barriault with a right hand.
Here are the quick results for Saturday’s card:
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 12: Brandon Moreno def. Steve Erceg via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Manuel Torres def. Drew Dober via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:45)
Bout 10: Edgar Chairez def. CJ Vergara via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:30)
Bout 9: Raul Rosas Jr. def. Vince Morales via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: David Martinez def. Saimon Oliveira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:38)
Bout 7: Kevin Borjas def. Ronaldo Rodriguez via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 2:00PM CST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 6: Ateba Gautier def. Jose Medina via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:32)
Bout 5: Melquizael Costa def. Christian Rodriguez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Loopy Godinez def. Julia Polastri via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Rafa Garcia def. Vinc Pichel via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Jamall Emmers def. Gabriel Miranda via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:06)
Bout 1: MarQuel Mederos def. Austin Hubbard via Decision, Split