“Assassin Baby” is doing okay.
Former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight champion Brandon Moreno suffered a second-round stoppage to surging 125-pound contender Tatsuro Taira at UFC 323 this past weekend (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was a very questionable stoppage, and plenty of fans felt it came a little early — especially given Moreno’s legendary durability throughout his iconic career.
Moreno didn’t issue a statement on fight night, but
today, two days later, he finally did.
“Hey guys, I’m just here to tell you I’m fine and everything is great. I hadn’t posted anything because yesterday was my birthday,” Moreno said on Instagram (translated from Spanish). “I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing really, really well. So, yeah, just reflecting a little bit on the fight — honestly, who knows, right? Personally, I think the referee stopped it too soon, but look, I could have just stayed there and taken extra punishment, or maybe, if I did have the chance to get away, I could have made a comeback — you never know.
“It was a very strange fight, but what remains is I have to keep my head up, and I have to keep moving forward and enjoy the end of the year, enjoy the holidays, enjoy time with family, and look forward to 2026. Whatever comes, whatever comes strong,” Moreno concluded. “Blessings to everyone. Let’s go.”
Moreno (23-9-2) was hoping to make one more run at the title; however, for now, those hopes are paused — even though he remains the division’s biggest star and is basically always one win away from another No. 1-contender opportunity. Still, the loss snaps his two-fight winning streak, which included impressive victories over Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg — on top of that, the Mexican star was finished for the first time in his career.
For complete UFC 323 results and play-by-play, click here.
