UFC Fight Night Mexico City: Sergio Pettis faces Brandon Moreno in a bout which will propel one into the top five

Dan Hardy's UFC preview: Dan looks ahead to this weekend’s Fight Night event, headlined by a flyweight clash, as the Octagon arrives in Mexico City

Pettis defeated John Moraga in January (Getty)

In the shadow of what turned out to be an epic UFC 214, this weekend’s card has flown somewhat under the radar. There are several very interesting match-ups with some promising young talent, looking to become the UFC stars of tomorrow.

Two flyweights take centre stage as c faces Brandon Moreno in a bout that will move one of them into the top five. Moreno, sitting one spot below Pettis at seven, is on an 11 fight winning streak which began in September 2012. His UFC debut, in October 2016, was something of a baptism of fire, as he was brought in to replace an injured fighter and immediately found himself in the Octagon with top ranked Louis Smolka.

Interestingly, the fighter Moreno replaced was his opponent this weekend, Sergio Pettis. Younger brother of former lightweight champion, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis, Sergio is very much following in his brothers footsteps.

He hasn’t had it all his way since joining the UFC as an undefeated prospect, picking up two losses in eight fights in the Octagon but these are excellent lessons for a young fighter, that will help him evolve as a martial artist and continue to better himself. Both Pettis and Moreno are only 23 years of age, meaning that they still have long careers ahead of them. Moreno’s lessons came earlier in his career, picking up three decision losses in his first six bouts.

Those first three victories however, were all secured via armbar, which tells me that Moreno began as a grappler and has become a mixed martial artist since those losses. His ground game made the switch from armbars to neck attacks and he began racking up the victories with rear naked chokes, as well as a guillotine and a triangle.

It was Smolka who fell victim to the guillotine, and at only halfway through the first round, it was a huge upset - especially considering Moreno had been unsuccessful on The Ultimate Fighter, just two months earlier. With that win over such a highly-positioned flyweight he found himself facing Ryan Benoit two months later, one of the two people to have a win over Pettis.

Pettis has only lost twice before (Getty)

In his last bout Moreno took out top 15 ranked Dustin Ortiz inside two rounds, with his favourite neck squeeze. The rear naked choke has added five names to his win column and interestingly, the other loss on Pettis’ record is a submission against Alex Caceres due to that very same choke. Will that hole in Sergio’s game be closed and will he remain above Moreno in the rankings?

With Sergio Pettis, it took some time for him to find his equal and that brought him all the way to the UFC. Those two losses will undoubtedly lead to improvements in his game and in his recent three fight winning streak he has beaten two former title challengers, in John Moraga and Chris Cariasso.

These two could fight 10 times and we would get 10 different results, split 50/50. Pettis is a second degree blackbelt in Taekwondo, now training under respected kickboxing champion-turned MMA coach, Duke Roufus. Brandon Moreno is a student of my old friend, Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig, but of his 14 wins, 10 have come by submission, so you have to assume that his advantage will be on the ground.

Pettis has shown excellent takedown defence and possesses the same speedy footwork as his older sibling. These two are going to steal the show and remind people why the flyweight division is the best value for money.

The UFC heads to Mexico City this weekend (Getty)

Moving down the card, we have an interesting women’s strawweight bout, as Randa Markos takes on Invicta starlet, Alexa Grasso. Markos has shown incredible toughness in her UFC career so far. Even in her losses she goes out on her shield.

Grasso is an excellent technician but perhaps doesn’t have the tenacity of the woman they call ‘Quiet Storm’. Currently unranked, Grasso would benefit greatly from a win here. She would undoubtedly move into the top 15 and get her name on the board among the division’s elite.

Markos is determined to make it to the title but knows that a little division maintenance is required at times, when the rising water gets too high.

Jouban returns to the Octagon after a submission loss to Gunnar Nelson at UFC London (Getty)

Also on the main card, Muay Thai and 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu representative, Alan Jouban will take on the unbeaten Niko Price. We also have to mention ‘Smilin’ Sam Alvey taking on former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, and the UK’s Brad Scott takes on the Scandinavian Joker, Jack Hermansson, for European bragging rights at middleweight.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno live on BT Sport 2 from 1am BST on the morning of Sunday 6th August, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from midnight on Saturday