In the co-main event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Moreno (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-2 UFC) finished Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) with a body kick and punches at 4:33 of round 3. The first two rounds were closely contested with Moreno making good use of his range and technical striking. Kara-France struggled to muster consistent offense until the start of the third round. Cara-France found some success in a series in which Moreno shot for a leg but came up short. Waving and weaving like a prime Benson Henderson on the ground, Moreno was met with a handful of knuckleballs from Cara-France, who stood over him. The shots bloodied Moreno, who eventually got up and continued to fight. As the clock wound down, Moreno landed a wicked left kick to Kara-France’s midsection. There was no poker face to it. Cara-France folded up like a lawn chair and squeezed his middle. Halfway between tending to the tender area and fending off the onslaught of punches to the head, Kara-France was unable to defend himself and referee Herb Dean stepped in. An interim title in his possession, Moreno lined up to fight recovering champion Deiveson Figueiredo (21-2-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) in the future. It will be the fourth head-to-head meeting in their careers. The streak is even at 1-1-1. After the fight, Figueiredo joined Moreno inside the cage. Despite the meanness from Figueiredo, Moreno said he wanted to be an example to his wife and children. So he apologized to Figueirdo for insulting him in the past and held out his hand. Figueiredo accepted the apology and the two embraced as they gathered the crowd. With the win, Moreno bounced back from a title loss to Figueiredo at UFC 270 in January. He also got an interim title for the first time. Since returning to the UFC in 2019, Moreno has compiled a 5-1-2 record with wins over Figueiredo, Jussier Formiga, Brandon Royval and two over Kara-France. Moreno and Kara-France first fought each other at UFC 245 in December 2019. Moreno won by unanimous decision. UFC 277 results so far include: Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via TKO (body kick, punches) – Round 3, 4:34 – to win interim flyweight title def Sergei Pavlovich. Derrick Lewis via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:55 Alexandre Pantoja def. Alex Perez via submission (back-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:31 Magomed Ankalaev def. Anthony Smith via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:09 Alex Morono def. Matthew Semelsberger by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Drew Dober def. Rafael Alves by knockout (punch to the body) – Round 3, 1:30 Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Don’Tale Mayes by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Drakkar Klose def. Rafa Garcia by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Michael Morales def. Adam Fugitt via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:09 Joselyne Edwards def. Ji Yeon Kim by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) Nicolae Negumereanu def. Ihor Potieria via TKO (knees, punches) – Round 2, 3:33 Orion Cosce def. Blood Diamond by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)