First Things First

The UFC is returning to Mexico City this weekend. They’re bringing an all action rematch between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval. We’re going to take a look at their first fight, discuss how they take risks, and highlight why all offense isn’t all good.

What’s Old Is New At Flyweight

What has made some of the UFC’s top flyweights so exciting has also given them limitations. What they’ve gained in offense they’ve lost in defensive responsibility.

Oftentimes, your greatest strength is right beside your greatest weakness.

These athletes take risks, we reward them with fandom, and, unfortunately, that leaves them accumulating career limiting damage. Two crystal clear examples of this are Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval.

Moreno and Royval are scheduled for a rematch this weekend. More importantly, this fight will likely push the loser from title contention for the foreseeable future. Today we’re talking about their last fight and what we can learn from the risks they took.

UFC Mexico City

This weekend the UFC returns to Mexico City. Weirdly the card is headlined by two rematches that both ended early because of shoulder injuries.

The co-main event features Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. In their first fight, Rodriguez countered Ortega’s takedown with an arm bar attempt. Ortega dislocated his shoulder pulling out of it.

After these two rematch, Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval will square off. Their first fight featured some fun back attacks that we’ll be taking a closer look at today. Before we look at the action, check out this simple flowchart that outlines what was happening. It also says what should have.

One Big Back Mount Differentiator In Moreno-Royval

Moreno and Royval’s whole back battle started from this rolling back take.

Once Moreno got to the mat he didn’t put both hooks in. Why? Royval was defending the second hook and you can still hold back mount with one back hook in. If you know how to play it, I mean.

Hip Cap

Capping the hip involves you pinching your high leg into your opponent’s high leg while your knee is above their hip line. It allows you to hold back mount when you can’t get both hooks in.

Generally it’s a good idea to cap the hip on the way to putting both hooks in. You cap the hip and pull your opponent backwards. This stretches them out and allows you to put the second hook in.

Twister Hook

The other control Moreno used to hold back mount was a twister hook. A twister hook is more or less equal but opposite to capping the hip.

Instead of controlling the high leg with both of yours, you make a figure four and hook both legs into your opponent’s lower leg.

People call this a twister hook because it opens up the submission popularized by Eddie Bravo known as the twister. This is actually a wrestling turn and they call it a guillotine. Here is Chan Sung-Jung hitting one in the UFC.

Moreno did crank on Royval’s neck with the rear naked choke grip. But he passed up on attacking the twister, much to the chagrin of Bravo’s friend and jiu-jitsu student, Joe Rogan. Ultimately Moreno’s twister hook left a leg inside. This allowed Royval to reach for a leg entanglement.

What went wrong? Royval never controlled Moreno’s secondary leg and hips. This allowed Moreno to escape. In the ensuing scramble Royval’s shoulder was injured. Moreno started punching and the fight was called off.

You know what really stands out about this fight? Both fighters opted to take a risk and attack submissions without solidifying their control position and neither fighter got their submission. They chose to be dynamic. They tolerated too much risk and it cost them their positions. For one, it cost them the entire fight.

Why give your opponent a chance? Why risk more control for more dynamic offense?

You could argue that more dynamism = more fans = more money over time, but I can’t agree. Winning is the surest path to money in prizefighting. You need to take risks, but you need to do everything in your power to ensure the risks you take don’t risk taking you out of the game.

A Fight For The Future Of Flyweight?

Both of these contenders are coming off failed attempts to take the title from Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno lost a blood and guts battle and Royval was held down for the majority of their fight. Those outcomes make me lean towards Moreno.

Moreno has spent the past few years shoring up much of his defensive liabilities by improving his footwork. He’s hardly the brawler he debuted as.

Royval has maintained a high output, high risk style. More importantly, his lack of wrestling is a gigantic liability in this rematch.

While Royval’s offense might be more varied on the outside, Moreno is simply too good at stabbing, circling, and intercepting with his own offense for me to pick Royval. Royval’s risk tolerance threatens his own safety too much for him to be a smart pick in this fight.

I have no idea how long it’ll go, but I have to think Moreno gets it done again. We’ll be here to breakdown the action and discuss the future of their division. Stick around to see what happens.

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