It’s hard to look at Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja’s third meeting and take too much away from their first two bouts. After finishing the champion in Deiveson Figueiredo twice and finishing Kai Kara-France for the interim title along the way, Moreno has showcased a significantly better skillset than anything he had in 2018. A win for him here allows him to finally overcome a dangerous contender who has set him back twice before, cementing himself as a champion rather than simply a bad matchup for Figueiredo. Dakota Ditcheva Vows importance of regional shows such as UK Fighting Championship. For Pantoja, a win here proves that Moreno’s improvements mean nothing. Coming into this bout as the underdog despite his victories over Moreno, Pantoja finds himself expected to underperform against this new, improved Moreno. The chance to assert himself as the best 125-pound fighter looms large for Pantoja, only guarded by a man he has dominated twice before.
Brandon Moreno: Lead Hand Hitting
For how unorthodox Brandon Moreno is, his strike variation is relatively standard with the odd spin here and there. Moreno’s lead hand does most of his work, with jabs and lead overhands catching his opponents from a deceptively long way. When not parrying and feinting jabs, Moreno’s lead hand is short, lulling opponents into feeling comfortable at a range they can still be hit from once Moreno extends the lead. He also utilises this to lunge in with left hooks. Kai Kara-France was given fits by this due to his tendency to dip to his right. When thrown, Moreno’s right hand is most often a slappy overhand but still catches his opponents all the same. Like his boxing, a lot of Moreno’s kicking game stems from his lead leg. He makes use of a particularly wicked lead body kick which put away Kai Kara-France and bothered him throughout their bout.
Leg Defence, Scrambles and Stuffing The Shot
In rematches, it’s often valuable to look back to the initial bouts to establish where one’s successes over another came from. Looking back to Brandon Moreno and Pantoja’s most recent fight, one of Pantoja’s biggest weapons was his low-kicks. Moreno’s boxing-centric stance made him quite for the mark for them but has since developed a solid kicking defence by retracting his lead leg and countering if the shot is available. Moreno should be diligent with his low-kick defence, given how potent they can be against Moreno’s particular striking style. The grappling of Pantoja is undoubtedly his best weapon as perhaps the best back taker in the sport. However, in the past Pantoja has shown himself somewhat unwilling to commit to multiple takedowns if stuffed early. Resultingly, Moreno (a good grappler in his own right) should stray from engaging Pantoja in this realm of the fight. Indeed, this writer would caution against even committing to grappling exchanges that Moreno may be scoring in due to Pantoja’s ability to take the back from damn near anywhere and a solid series of reversals in his pocket.
Instead, Moreno should shut Pantoja’s best weapon out of the fight as quickly as possible by simply stopping the takedowns and disengaging. Whilst easier said than done, a “floor is lava” approach should keep the fight firmly in Moreno’s preferred phase and if Pantoja is consistent, the shots should wane. Pantoja’s takedowns aren’t especially dominant but in the event that Moreno does find himself down, his scrambling should keep him afloat.
Counters and Draining The Tank
Pantoja’s biggest strength and weakness on the feet is the fact that 99% of the time, he’s always right there in front of you. It works for him as a way to pressure and stay on his man, yet also opens him up to being countered often. One would like to think that Moreno, whose movement has become some of the best at Flyweight since his last loss to Pantoja, could take advantage of this on the feet. By not backing up straight, Moreno may be able to navigate himself around Pantoja before slapping him with counters as Pantoja brawls into space. His hands low, Pantoja has always been there for shots as he exits the pocket or stands and trades.
Another feature of Pantoja’s fights is a long-term consistency to slow down as the fights press on. It’s hard to overstate just how much Moreno should press this advantage as a multiple 5-round veteran. Pantoja’s cardio, coming into his first 5 round bout, should be all Moreno’s to play with using feints, interrupting strikes, movement and (of course) bodywork.
Recommending bodywork seems to be a staple of my preview breakdowns but for good reason. So few fighters utilise it well, especially when faced with an opponent prone to gassing out. Against Pantoja, it would be wonderful to see Moreno box the body as he does rather infrequently. Much of Moreno’s bodywork comes from his lead kicks, yet against Pantoja throwing consistent, predictable kicks to his body would be ill-advised due to the chances of Pantoja turning it into a takedown opportunity. Therefore, punches to the body would serve Moreno well in punishing Pantoja early and overwhelming him as the fight enters the championship rounds.
Alexandre Pantoja: Committed Striker, Masterful Grappler
Alexandre Pantoja as a striker is, for want of a better word, janky. His best strikes are a powerful step-in jab, a right straight counter and a rear kick. This kick will often follow his right hand as he throws himself out of position, swinging at the leg most often although sometimes directed at the head to catch his man off guard.
Outside of these few consistently tactical, considered weapons, Pantoja is very much the wildman. By planting himself in front of his opponent and never stopping Pantoja keeps himself in striking matches he should be out-skilled in. His less technical blitzes and pocket exchanges won’t find him turned into gifs by analysts, but they do allow him to stay upon opponents with surprising power when they would rather he be anywhere else.
As a grappler, Pantoja is a safe pick for the greatest back-taker in the sport. How he does this is varied, whether nicely sitting people down into back mount, pouncing upon them as they turn to their knees or spinning them around in the clinch before backpacking onto them for the choke. Forever dangerous in this position, four of Pantoja’s six finishes have come from this position. If he finds himself in bottom positions, Pantoja is no stranger to leg attacks in order to create a standup.
Hiding Low-Kicks and Staying On The Champ
Despite acknowledging Moreno’s better kick defence, there are still ways in which Pantoja can score with them. Rather than throwing naked, it’d be good to see Pantoja commit to kicking low on the end of his combinations as he sometimes likes to do. If he can stay in Moreno’s face, catch him slipping strikes, planting his feet and not focusing on the low-kick might be the best avenue to land. If Pantoja is able to kick Moreno’s legs, he should be able to hamper the movement that makes Brandon Moreno so dangerous as a striker.
Moreno’s in-and-out striking style relies upon his legs being able to spring him forwards, so Pantoja taking that away takes away a lot of Moreno’s ability to lead whilst also taking power from the shots he sits down on. This ties directly into Pantoja’s typical strategy of staying on his man, giving himself more chances to land his power shots if Moreno isn’t able to dance circles around him.
Grappling: The Pros and Cons
Not much can be said for Pantoja’s grappling in this bout other than the obvious. He should absolutely be trying to submit Moreno. Pantoja should be aiming to win rounds on the ground threatening submissions even if he fails to lock in a submission. Perhaps provoking Moreno’s scrambling may allow him to take chances at Moreno’s back if he’s able to ground him. However, knowing Pantoja’s issues with his gas tank, it’s hard to recommend a grappling-heavy approach. Moreno is not a fighter who will allow himself to lose rounds on his back and will be exploding up and away the second he senses danger. Whilst this might be tiring for Moreno, his 5 round experience and grappling sequences versus Figueiredo give this writer more confidence in his stamina holding up compared to Pantoja’s.
Closing Thoughts
Ultimately this bout aims to show which fighter has evolved more since their last outing. If Moreno is truly the champion he seems to be, Pantoja should provide challenges yet be largely at the mercy of his movement, counters and otherwise improvements since their last outing. For Pantoja, utilising his genuinely terrifying grappling in spots may not be necessary but would go a long way to winning him rounds if not securing a finish in his name. On the feet, finding ways to land the low-kicks to slow Moreno down and fight in a more Pantoja-style fight should be prioritised.
As these gentlemen clash for the third and likely final bout, we see if Moreno is finally able to rid himself of the demon that Pantoja has become, following him through the division in an effort to claim the status as the best Flyweight alive.
Published on Combat Sports UK: World MMA News on 6 July 2023 Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
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