Matt Schnell believes Brandon Moreno is about to wear UFC gold once again.
UFC 277, Moreno faces Kai Kara-France to claim an interim title as champion Deiveson Figueiredo heals from injury. The fight is a rematch of a 2019 bout which saw Moreno take home a unanimous decision — and fellow flyweight contender Schnell believes Moreno will get his hand raised yet again.
“It’s a tough one,” Schnell said on The MMA Hour. “I think Kai’s got a lot of momentum right now. He’s been able to find that right hand. While I am looking forward to an exciting fight, I believe Moreno still has the volume edge. He’s been very accurate lately, particularly through the “Figgy” fights. We also need to remember that Brandon and Moreno have fought previously and Brandon was able to give him a bit of the spoils. I thought Brandon had the advantage there and was able to keep it in that wheelhouse and win that. We’ll soon see .”
He is currently No. 8 in the UFC’s flyweight rankings, Schnell has never faced either man. But “Danger”, a former training partner of Moreno in 2017., did not fight either man. So while he recognizes that Kara-France has improved since his first fight with Moreno, Schnell still favors the former champion to get the job done.
“Kai’s good and has made adjustments and has gotten better places,” Schnell said. “It would be interesting to see him come out and try to wrestle or something, maybe try to steal some rounds with some top control. Moreno is also dangerous at the ground. I’ve trained with Moreno. I was brought out by him before Sergio Pettis fought. He gave me a five-week whipping in Mexico City. I know Moreno is a man, and I am well aware of that. Although I believe Moreno wins it again, I am ultimately team flyweight. It would be great to see these guys scrap .”
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Schnell will get what he wants this Saturday when Moreno and Kara-France face off in the co-main event of UFC 277.
The winner of that bout should then get the chance to face Figueiredo to unify the belts, but that isn’t exactly set in stone. Figueiredo is openly uninterested in a fourth fight with Moreno — their series is tied at 1-1-1 — and is contemplating a permanent move up to 135 pounds. This could lead to Saturday’s final title fight becoming the bantamweight champion. However, Schnell has not yet decided whether he will be selling.
“We’ll see what happens,” Schnell said. I don’t believe it would be prudent for [Figueiredo]to leave.
“Many men in the past were able to gain weight and be successful, but bantamweight is a very different animal today than in the past. It’s scary up there. The top 30 percentage of men can all probably beat one another. This is one of the more difficult divisions. But ‘Figgy’ would probably be able to jump in there and compete.”
