Brandon Moreno vs Brandon Royval Picks and Prediction – 2/25/2024

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Former flyweight champion and top-ranked contender Brandon “Assassin Baby” Moreno and No. 3-ranked Brandon “Raw Dog” Royval will face for the second time as the UFC heads to Mexico City on Saturday, Feb. 24. Check out our prediction below, and get ready for everything UFC with our UFC Picks.

Moreno, 30, is 21-7-2 with five wins by KO/TKO and 11 by submission. His seven losses were all by decision. He lands 3.8 significant strikes per minute while taking 3.4 per minute. Moreno has been successful on 45% of his takedown attempts, averging 1.73 per 15 minutes. He has defended 64% of the takedown attempts he has faced.

Moreno lost the championship belt in July by split decision to Alexandre Pantoja his last time out. Two of the judges scored it 48-47 for Pantoja, while the third had it 49-46 in favor of Moreno. After the fight, it was revealed that Moreno fought with a broken hand for most of the bout. It was Moreno's second loss by decision to Pantoja in the UFC, but Pantoja also submitted Moreno during "The Ultimate Fighter."

Royval, 31, is 15-7 with four wins by KO/TKO and nine by submission. He has been stopped twice, once by KO/TKO and once by submission. The southpaw lands 3.8 significant strikes per minute, while absorbing 3.05. Royval lands just 0.43 takedowns per 15 minutes but finishes 66% of his attempts. His takedown defense is just 40%.

Royval’s last fight was also a title bout against Pantoja. “Raw Dog” lost that match by unanimous decision in December. Pantoja was dominant on the ground, landing eight of his 14 takedown attempts and ending up with more than 15 minutes of control time.