Brandon Moreno billed to be backup fighter for UFC 296 flyweight title fight

Brandon Moreno will be the backup fighter for the UFC 296 flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval.

In the co-main event of UFC 296, Pantoja is looking to defend his flyweight title for the first time when he rematches Royval on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although that fight is official, MMA journalist Marcel Dorff revealed Moreno will be the backup fighter for the title fight.

Got told former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is the official back-up fighter for next week's titlefight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval. #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/PRB1NBWzCa

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) December 6, 2023

“Got told former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is the official back-up fighter for next week’s title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise to see the UFC enlist a backup fighter as it has become normal for someone to weigh in for a title in case someone misses weight or falls ill before the fight. As of right now, it’s uncertain if there is a backup fighter for the UFC 296 main event which sees Leon Edwards defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington. But, Brandon Moreno has been picked to be the backup for the flyweight title fight.

Not only is Moreno serving as the backup fighter at UFC 296, but it was recently announced he will return to the octagon on Feb. 24 in the co-main event of a Fight Night card against Amir Albazi. The fight will also be five rounds with the winner likely facing the winner of Pantoja vs. Royval.

Brandon Moreno (21-7-2) suffered a decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja back in July to lose his flyweight title. The Mexican reclaimed the belt in the fight prior as he scored a TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo after TKO’ing Kai Kara-France for the interim title.

Moreno is a two-time UFC flyweight champion and holds notable wins over Figueiredo, twice, Brandon Royval, and Jussier Formiga while being 0-2 against Pantoja, as he lost both times by decision. The two also fought on TUF which Pantoja won by submission, but that fight doesn’t count on their pro records.

If Brandon Moreno is not needed at UFC 296, the card is as follows:

• Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
• Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
• Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett
• Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry
• Tagi Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden
• Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
• Casey O’Neill vs. Ariane Lipski
• Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Dustin Jacoby
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher
• Josh Emmett vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Shamil Gaziev vs. Martin Buday
• Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida