MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom takes an in-depth look at the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at UFC Fight Night 246 main event between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi.

Brandon Moreno UFC Fight Night 246 preview

Basic information:

• Record: 21-8-2 MMA, 17-5 UFC
• Height: 5’7″ Age: 30 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 70″
• The Last Battle: Loss by decision to Brandon Royval(February 24, 2024)
• Camp: Team Moreno (Las Vegas/Mexico)
• Kicking Position/Style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Good

Additional Information:
+ Former UFC flyweight champion
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ More battle prizes
+ 5 KO wins
+ 11 wins by submission
+ 8 finishes in the first round
+ Constant pace and pressure
+ Precise left hook
^ Approaching or overtaking the counter
+ Strong blows to the leg and head
^ Works well outside the lead part
+ Improved combat ability
+ Good transition grappler
^ Solid fights and submissions

Amir Albazi UFC Fight Night 246 preview

Amir Albazi

Basic information:

• Record: 17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC
• Height: 5’5″ Age: 31 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 68″
• The Last Battle: Win by decision over Kai Kara-France (June 3, 2024)
• Camp: Fight Ready MMA (Arizona)
• Kicking Position/Style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Good

Additional Information:
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt
+ More battle prizes
^ In and from gi
+ 5 KO wins
+ 9 submission wins
+ 9 completions in the first round
+ KO power
+ Solid sense of range
^ Good eyes in exchanges
+ Dangerous right hand
+ Hard kicks to the legs
+ Solid fighting ability
+ Excellent transition grappler
^ Superb back control

Point of interest Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi: fists with fists with a fly

July 8, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Brandon Moreno (red gloves) fights Alexandre Pantoja (blue gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The main event in Edmonton features a matchup between top seeds (autota)Brandon Moreno(/autotag) and Amir Albazi.

Although Albazi was a prospect who was initially hailed for his fighting accolades, the Iraqi-born fighter has shown a natural knack for striking since stepping onto the UFC scene.

Albazis do well when it comes to maintaining an active and educated leading hand, displaying a consistent presence of feint or exhortation.

Offensively, this allows Albazi to connect punches and play off of previous work by hooking shots and so on. Defensively, Albazi’s feinting presence helps draw reactions from his opponent which in turn can lead to some crucial counter chances.

It’s always dangerous to get too predictable with head movement and counters. pic.twitter.com/iO7S5UaJWn

— Miguel Class (@MigClass) May 31, 2023

Albazi also seems to have an excellent eye for shifts, which is something that certainly contributes to his solid range sense. I’ll be curious to see if Albazi looks to control the kick traffic, but he too will have to be wary of potential counters coming Moreno’s way.

Moreno, who originally stepped onto the UFC scene as a grappling-first fighter, has since developed into a more complete and technical striking threat as he matures.

Still only 30 years old, Moreno continues to display an almost unwavering composure, win or lose, almost as if he is determined to finish the fight stronger than his foe. But when you look past the brief, unpleasant moments that allow his character to shine, you can see a more mature counter game at play.

Always a fan of the left hook (both coming forward and on the counter), Moreno does a much better job of varying both his timing and his targets, often working them off a jab. The theme of knowledge on the lead side travels fluently for the Mexican fighter in the way Moreno attaches lead leg kicks to his combinations when he feels in his stride.

Moreno also has a knack for navigating extended shifts, but I’m not sure how much he’ll want to do that given the potential level-shifting counters that lie in wait.

Brandon Moreno vs. Breakdown Amir Albazi: potential combat threats

August 20, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Amir Albazi (red gloves) fights Francisco Figueiredo (blue gloves) during UFC 278 at Vivint Arena. Mandatory credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

With grappling being a big part of Albazi’s game, don’t be shocked if he’s the first to engage in the grappling department.

As mentioned in the previous section, Albazi is a fighter who originally excelled in the grappling arts. A tenacious competitor, Albazi’s aggressiveness shines through in transition – something he seems to apply to his grappling repertoire.

Even though Albazi has the athletic ability to shoot in the open, his more effective setups and takedowns seem to come against the fence or in the clinch. And since Albazi seems to have spent this last camp at Fight Ready MMA, I’m guessing those takedown tools won’t be until this Saturday.

Fortunately for Moreno, the Mexican is far from a slouch in the grappling department.

Starting his career as more of a jiu-jitsu fighter, Moreno has smartly swam to the grappling side of things (offensively) after being given the chance to train in the United States through the UFC’s former developmental program .

While Moreno has yet to get any further than being knocked out or scoring a submission from his back, he has provided plenty of images of improvement during his first run with the promotion.

Moreno has been much more aggressive on the feet during this second stint, but he doesn’t seem to be ignoring the other parts of his game. As for grappling and wrestling scrambles, Moreno was able to come out on top in stanzas against some of the best fighters in the division in Jussier Formiga and Askar Askarov (whom he beat handily in my opinion).

But as for the Moreno fight, he might want to pick his spots wisely with a fighter like Albazi.

Albazi is a passionate back-taker, with fantastic controls from the back support. Whether Albazi opts to lock down opponents from safer walking positions or uses crab walks to transition, the Iraqi-born fighter does a great job of staying behind his opponent’s knees and elbows whenever possible (a quiet key to look for in good fighters) .

Brandon Moreno vs. Odds Amir Albazi

Oddsmakers and the public favor the former champion, listing Moreno -172 and Albazi +134 via FanDuel.

Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi prediction, choose

With Moreno being the more proven product (over five rounds and overall), it’s not a huge shock to see the Mexican fighter favored in this spot. However, it’s hard to know exactly where either fighter stands at this point in their careers.

Outside of an insane amount of title fights since the pandemic, Moreno has also experienced several changes of camp during that time. While Albazi, who had to overcome some recent health scareshe also changed his training camp before the competition.

The larger Octagon and 25-minute time slot should favor Moreno on paper, but I worry that the Mexican fighter’s cage positioning puts him in prime operating space for Albazi.

Although Moreno is more than just stepping on the gas and taking his own initiatives, he traditionally likes to counter and can be pushed to play between the fence and the inside lines of the black octagon.

If Moreno allows Albazi to take the initiative early, then I suspect that Albazi can get the hooks out of the former champion and escape the takedown entries along the cage on his way to the bench some early rounds. And if Albazi shows the improvements in pace that typically come with the second change in five-round games, then I think we’ll be in for a competitive battle from start to finish.

Despite the fact that I usually side with the more proven products, I find myself turning off my usual tendencies given how terrible my choices have been this year. I wouldn’t mind being wrong as a Moreno fan, but I’ll be semi-reluctant to side with Albazi to eliminate another decision by taking a more effective fight and landing more attractive shots.

Prediction: Albazi by decision

Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi start time, where to watch

As the main event, Moreno and Albazi are expected to make their walks to the Octagon at approximately 10:45 PM ET. Battle streams continue ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit the MMA Junkie event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.