Brandon Moreno moderately favored to win UFC Mexico City headliner vs. Brandon Royval

Brandon Moreno has defeated Brandon Royval once before, and the odd are that the former UFC flyweight champion will do it again.

Originally scheduled to meet Amir Albazi, Moreno (21-7-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) will now take on former title challenger Royval (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in the new UFC Fight Night headliner Feb. 24 in Mexico City. The fight was recently announced after Albazi withdrew because of an injury.

According to the oddsmakers at DraftKings, Moreno is a moderate betting favorite at -250, with Royval coming back as a +205 underdog. This means a $250 bet would be needed on Moreno to earn $100 with a win; a $100 bet on Royval would net a $205 payout.

In their first meeting in November 2020, Moreno beat Royval after a nasty shoulder injury led to the end of the fight in the first round. Now they’ll run things back 39 months later in the UFC’s return to Mexico.

Moreno will be fighting for the first time since dropping his flyweight title to Alexandre Pantoja by split decision last July at UFC 290. Royval was Pantoja’s first title challenger at UFC 296 but came up short by unanimous decision.