Brandon Moreno surprised by judges’ scorecards at UFC 256: “I think I lost the fifth round”

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Moreno was surprised by judges’ scorecards at UFC 256, admitting, “I think I lost the fifth round.”

Moreno and Figueiredo met in the main event of this past weekend’s UFC 256 pay-per-view card and put on an absolute classic for the fans. The two best flyweights in the world went the full 25 minutes and looked for the finish the whole way through in an absolute war that many are calling the best flyweight fight of all time. At the end of the five rounds, the judges couldn’t declare a winner, scoring the fight a majority draw. A point deduction to Figueiredo for a low blow in the third round proved to cost him the unanimous decision win.

Moreno vs. Figueiredo was a very close fight, but most who scored it agree on at least a few things. Most would say the first round was a clear round for Figueiredo, the fourth was a clear round for Moreno, and the second and third rounds were the swing rounds. The fifth also seemed like a clear Figueiredo round. However, one judge, Junichiro Kamijo, scored the fifth round 10-9 for Moreno. It’s a very controversial score that ultimately meant that instead of Figueiredo winning a majority decision, the fight was instead ruled as a draw.

Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Mike Heck, Moreno said he didn’t realize that one judge scored the fifth round for him, but he said he disagreed with it. Moreno said the fight was close and he believes he did enough to edge it out, but he admits he didn’t win the fifth.

.@theassassinbaby joined @MikeHeck_JR to react to the scorecards from his #UFC flyweight title fight at #UFC256:

"I feel I won the third and fourth. The second was close. I lost the first one."

Watch full interview: https://t.co/01uy6lXjXb pic.twitter.com/EycFmx3miZ

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 16, 2020

“Right now I’m trying to stay a little bit far from the media and the analysts to put my mind clear again. Man, to be honest, I feel I won the third and fourth. The second one was close. I lost the first one. I think I lost the fifth. You know judges score the end of the round, you know? Because he took me down and landed two or three punches to my face, so that’s why I think I lost the f*cking fifth round. But man I know there is a risk when you leave the decision to the judges, and I understand that,” Moreno said.

UFC president Dana White has already confirmed we will see a rematch between Figueiredo and Moreno sometime in 2021 after both men heal up. Remember, both fighters just fought twice in three weeks, as they both competed at UFC 255 before turning around on three weeks’ short notice and putting on an absolute classic in the UFC 256 main event. Once both fighters get their much-deserved break, look for the rematch next summer.

How did you score Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo?