"I completely agree" - Brandon Moreno believes he was losing third round against Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 before liver kick finish
Brandon Moreno believes that he was losing the third round of his fight against Kai Kara-France this past weekend at UFC 277.
'The Assassin Baby' earned a third-round stoppage win to become the interim UFC flyweight champion in the pay-per-view co-main event. The Mexican was widely considered to have been the stronger fighter in the first two frames, but Kara-France started to take control of the contest in the third as the New Zealander was repeatedly finding a home for his shots.
While speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the 28-year-old discussed his tough start to the round, saying:
"I watched the fight already, twice or three times, I don't remember. But yeah, I won the first and the second round. But I completely agree, the third one started really bad for me. Because Kai made the counter with the kick. Then connect the elbow and man, I said this before, and I have a lot of pictures on my social media, I have a cut in the same spot. Man, what a precision of Kai Kara-France to connect in the same spot."
Watch Brandon Moreno talk about his fight against Kai Kara-France below:
Moreno added that he started to change the level of his kicks. While he found a home for his head kick throughout the contest, the former undisputed champion decided to go for a body shot in the third round.
After connecting with a crushing kick to Kara-France's liver, 'Don't Blink' crumpled to the ground, where Moreno forced the stoppage with an onslaught of ground-and-pound strikes.
Brandon Moreno looks set to take on Deiveson Figueiredo for a fourth time
Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo squared off inside the octagon after the Mexican's win this past weekend. The duo have a significant history, with their rivalry being considered one of the best in the history of the flyweight division.
They have already fought three times in the UFC. Their first fight at UFC 256 was one of the best title fights in the promotion's history, ending in a majority draw after five rounds of memorable action.
Moreno won the rematch at UFC 263 via submission to become the undispited king. However, 'Deus Da Guerra' exacted his revenge in their third fight at UFC 270 this past January, with the Brazilian recapturing the title on the scorecards.
A tetralogy looks set to be next following Moreno's interim-title win, and Figueiredo is keen for the fight to happen in his home country of Brazil.