Brandon Moreno critical of referee stoppage in UFC 323 loss

Brandon Moreno doesn’t agree with how his fight was officiated Saturday.

A former UFC flyweight champion, Moreno (23-9-2 MMA, 11-5-2 UFC) lost by second-round TKO to Japan’s Tatsuro Taira on the main card of UFC 323 – which went down this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The final sequence ended with Taira (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) taking his back as he landed ground-and-pound.

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The fight was stopped by referee Mark Smith despite Moreno being conscious as he covered up. Immediately after the stoppage, Moreno postured up, looked at Smith and said, “Really?”

Many online, and even the UFC commentators, believed the fight was prematurely stopped. Now, a couple of days removed from the defeat, Moreno went to Instagram to address his supporters, along with the controversial stoppage.

“Hey, guys, how are you? Just here to tell you guys that I’m OK, and that everything is excellent,” Moreno said in Spanish in a video posted on Instagram. “I didn’t post anything yesterday because it was my birthday and I wanted to have a good time and spend time with my family and my daughters playing Mario Kart. I just wanted to tell you guys that I’m OK. Reflecting on the fight, who knows, but I me personally, I think that the referee stopped the fight too soon. But maybe I’d just be there taking extra punishment, or maybe I would’ve escaped and pulled off the comeback. You never know. It was a really strange fight. The only thing I can do now is keep my head up, keep moving forward, and enjoy the holidays, spend time with family and wait for 2026 to see what it brings us. Blessings to all, take care and happy holidays.”