Joseph Morales’ Future Demise From ‘The Assassin Baby’ at Noche UFC 2026
The Noche UFC will be happening in less than a week! It will feature fighters such as Jean Silva vs. Jose Delgado, with predictions favoring Silva. However, on the same card, two other fighters will represent the Men’s Flyweight Division. They’re both 32 years old, so age isn't a major factor in their bout. Their names are Brandon Moreno and Joseph Morales. Moreno goes by the nickname ‘The Assassin Baby,’ while his opponent, Morales, goes by ‘Bopo’.
Morales himself has made his time in the UFC count by being the season 33 UFC winner at UFC 319. The title, which made much of this fight possible, is that he’s facing a ranked top-ten fighter in the Men’s Flyweight Division. This win could be attributed to his ability to absorb only 2.05 strikes per minute. He even goes for takedowns when slipping a jab or seeing openings created by his opponents. This makes him more likely to be the grappler in this fight. ‘The Assassin Baby’ could fall prey to a submission from ‘Bopo’ if he finds himself strangled from a takedown.
The odds of this happening to Moreno are low considering that he scores a 65% takedown defense on average. A statistic that gives evidence of why he’s in the top ten of the division. Furthermore, he lands 3.84 strikes per minute, which is more than Morales’ 2.00 strikes per minute. This will matter if the fight goes to a unanimous decision. If it doesn’t, a knockout could be another possibility due to the 44% strike accuracy of ‘The Assassin Baby’. He’s also a grappler with a 23-10-2 record and 11 wins by submission.
The crowd statistics point to that as a reason the fight will go to a decision, because the experienced Moreno is expecting takedown attempts from Morales. The decision is even expected to be a unanimous decision favoring ‘The Assassin Baby’ as the winner. It makes sense, because he can anticipate the ground strategies that ‘Bopo’ will employ during the fight. Then, as the rounds progress, tallies will be made from the number of strikes landed and how long each fighter held a dominant ground position. Morales could come out on top if his higher 42% takedown accuracy puts him in a dominant position each time.
This is unlikely to sway the score in his favor by the end of the rounds. Instead, it will be the higher number of strikes from Moreno that will put him ahead of his opponent in a decision-based win. This is why the stats put him in a unanimous-decision win. Morales still has an opportunity to create an upset win, and many eyes will be eager to see such a spectacle. The best way to see it is, of course, to watch or stream the fight live on Paramount+ on September 12th, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
