Joseph Morales vs. Brandon Moreno prediction, pick, time for Noche UFC - MMA Junkie

Joseph Morales and Brandon Moreno meet in the Noche UFC co-feature Saturday at Diamond Desert Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Joseph Morales (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is in his second stint in the UFC. After an 0-2 run his first time around, he returned and won "The Ultimate Fighter" last year, then submitted Matt Schnell in November. He's been sidelined for 10 months, but now has his biggest opportunity yet.

Two-time flyweight champ Brandon Moreno (23-10-2 MMA, 11-7-2 UFC) has seen a mixed bag of results since he lost the belt to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023. He dropped a split call to Brandon Royval after that, but then had back-to-back decision wins. Those are in the rearview mirror, though. Consecutive losses to Tatsuro Taira and Lone'er Kavanagh have him in desperate need of a win.

The co-main event on Paramount+ features a men's flyweight affair between Brandon Moreno and Joseph Morales.

Whether we're talking about their time on "The Ultimate Fighter" or the fact that both men had to fight their way back into the UFC, Moreno and Morales share storyline parallels, as well as stylistic ones.

Although Moreno may be the more proven product, picking him is harder than it should be considering how he's looked as of late. Moreno and Morales may be the same age, but Moreno's mileage is an undeniable differentiator between the two.

Add in the fact that Moreno has self-admittedly been struggling to get in a proper headspace for fights, and I can't help but side with the oncoming Morales to get his grappling pressure going.

Round 2 feels like a hot round for this fight, but I'll officially pick Morales to win by decision. 

Despite the oddsmakers opening the former champ as a slight favorite, public money has flipped the betting lines, listing Morales -116 and Moreno -102 via FanDuel.

Morales and Moreno are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.