He wasn't gone very long, but the time off to tend to his mental health clearly had a positive impact on Brandon Moreno.
The UFC's former flyweight king dominated No. 3-ranked Amir Albazi on Saturday Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in the main event of a fight night card, winning a unanimous decision in a fight that was never close.
Moreno bloodied Albazi's face with a constant stream of punches, elbows, knees and kicks, and looked as good as he ever has in winning 50-45 on two cards and 49-46 on the third.
After losing to Brandon Royval in Mexico City in February, Moreno announced in March he was taking a break to work on his mental health.
From the moment he arrived in Canada on Monday, he looked like a different person and he fought like it on Saturday. The fight was basically a kickboxing match, as Albazi was 1 of 4 on takedowns and Moreno was 0 for 9. That was right up Moreno's alley, and according to UFC Stats, he landed more than twice as many significant strikes as Albazi.
Moreno was 132 of 317 in signficant strikes, a 41-percent connect rate. Albazi never got out of neutral and landed just 63 of 235.
More importantly, all the hard, clean and damaging blows were the ones thrown by Moreno.
"I feel amazing; I feel fantastic," an exuberant Moreno said in the Octagon following the win. "I feel like a new guy; a new person."
Before the fight, Moreno was upbeat and said he was going into the bout with a clear head. He said he'd had a great training camp and had no injures. He predicted a strong performance.
And that's what he delivered. He controlled the distance and the pace and never allowed Albazi to great untracked. The one time Albazi took him down, Moreno scooted backward a few feet and quickly bounced to his feet.
The win puts him in great position for 2025. On Dec. 7 in Las Vegas, champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his belt against UFC newcomer Kai Asakura in the co-main event of UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena. Last month, Royval, the division's No. 1 contender, defeated Tatsuro Taira in a fantastic bout in Las Vegas.
Royval and Moreno are 1-1 and could meet again with the winner getting the Pantoja-Asakura winner. Or Moreno, who received a huge ovation when he was introduced Saturday, could go right back into a title fight with the winner.
Given his history of success in the division and his popularity with fans, nothing is out of reach for Moreno, it seems, at this stage.
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images
Brandon Moreno (R) follows through on a left during a unanimous decision win over Amir Albazi at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Scores were 50-45 twice and 49-46.