Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
The changes continue for the UFC’s November PPV event.
With Alex Perez now facing Deiveson Figueiredo for the UFC flyweight title, Brandon Moreno—who was scheduled to face Perez at the event—will now face surging contender Brandon Royval at UFC 255.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the booking with MMA Fighting following a report from BJ PENN. The card will take place Nov. 21 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Garbrandt revealed he was forced to withdraw from his championship opportunity with Figueiredo due to a torn bicep, which has since led to a shuffling of the deck at 125-pounds.
Moreno is unbeaten in his last four fights, which began with a fourth-round TKO win over Maikel Perez at LFA 69 that lead to a quick return to the UFC after being released in 2018. “The Assassin Baby” opened up his second promotional stint by fighting Askar Askarov to a split draw at UFC Mexico City this past September before picking up back-to-back wins over Kai Kara-France and Jussier Formiga.
Royval recently improved to 2-0 in the octagon with a second-round submission win over Kai Kara-France at UFC 253 in the event’s “Fight of the Night.” “Raw Dawg” submitted former title challenger Tim Elliott in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 9 in May and is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. The former LFA flyweight champion is now ranked No. 7 in the division.
In addition to the Figueiredo vs. Perez title fight, the women’s 125-pound title will be on the line at UFC 255 as Valentina Shevchenko defends against top contender Jennifer Maia.