Moreno looks to avenge friend’s loss to Acosta
Means eager to whip Oliveira for real
Josh Moreno has revenge on his mind.
No, Moreno, a middleweight MMA fighter from Albuquerque, has never faced Omar Acosta — in the cage or anywhere else. But Acosta, a Mexico native who fights out of Clovis, scored an upset victory by submission (rear naked choke) over Rio Rancho’s Anthony Rozema last June.
Acosta (1-1) and Moreno (2-0) are scheduled to meet tonight at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in the main event of Jackson’s Series XXI.
Rozema and Moreno are good friends.
“He’s my boy,” Moreno said of Rozema. “Omar beat my boy, so I’ve got to go out for blood. I’ve got to go get some revenge.”
Moreno, 28, got a relatively late start in MMA. But he competed for years as an amateur kickboxer and says he has never lost a fight in kickboxing or MMA.
His most recent victory, on Dec. 3 by second-round TKO over Colorado’s Sonny Yohn on Jackson’s Series XX, was a confidence builder. Moreno, primarily a striker, found himself in with an All-America college wrestler.
“I’m really glad for that fight, because people in the crowd, family and friends and fans, they saw me in the worst possible positions I could be in,” Moreno said. “And I was really comfortable. I didn’t panic at all.
“Just to take out a Division I wrestler that could fight, really showed my improvement in this MMA game. I’m top-notch right now, and I’m just gonna keep on going, keep evolving.”
Moreno’s not sure what to expect from Acosta, who had a victory in the amateur ranks by TKO (punches) and a loss by submission in the pros before his victory over Rozema. He’s also 0-1 as a professional boxer, having lost a four-round decision to Elijio Sena in Clovis last June.
Wherever the fight goes, Moreno said, he’ll be prepared. But, he said, he remains a striker at his core.
“Every fight starts standing up, and nobody likes to get hit in the face,” he said. “I believe that Omar is the type of guy that, once he gets hit, he’s really uncomfortable and really wants to go for that takedown.”
Taking Moreno down, the Albuquerque High graduate said, won’t be easy. He’s been working at Jackson-Wink MMA with Harry St. Leger, a first-degree judo black belt and a former national champion.
“He really helped me out a lot,” Moreno said. “... The guys (at Jackson-Wink) can’t even take me down anymore.”
When not fighting or training, Moreno works as a roofer to support wife Monica and son Joshua Jr.
Moreno said he doesn’t believe he’s reached his ceiling as a fighter.
“Hopefully, after this one,” he said, “I’ll get to dedicate myself (to fighting) full time.”
At Friday’s weigh-in, covered by cagedminds.com, Moreno weighed in at 185.1 pounds. Acosta weighed 183.9.
Santa Fe lightweight Ernesto Salvidrez, who’s facing El Paso’s Rene Bustamante in a featured fight, weighed in at 157.3. Bustamante weighed 152.8. It’s the pro debut for both fighters.
UFC FORTALEZA: Tim Means has never denied that the illegal knees he landed to the head of Alex Oliveira on Dec. 30 were intentional. He just thought they were legal.
Means (26-7-1), who trains in Albuquerque at FIT-NHB, and Oliveira (15-4-1) meet tonight in Fortaleza, Brazil (8 p.m., Fox Sports 1), in a rematch of their earlier fight. That one was declared no contest after Means twice landed knees to the head while Oliveira was grounded.
Means, in an interview with MMA Fighting, said he assumed the fight was ruled no contest rather than a win for Oliveira by disqualification because of widespread confusion that night about whether the blows were legal or illegal.
“I did throw the knee on purpose (because) I thought it was a legal knee,” Means said . ... “They should go ahead and give him the DQ so he can have a win.
“I’m gonna beat his ass (tonight) and we can have a third fight.”
Means weighed in Friday at 170 pounds, the welterweight limit. Oliveira weighed 171, an allowable one pound over.
Albuquerque’s Ray Borg, who trains at Jackson-Wink, is an underdog in his fight tonight against Brazil’s Jussier “Formiga” da Silva. That’s fine with Borg, who’s counting on a victory to move up in the UFC flyweight rankings. Formiga (19-4) is the No. 3 contender to Demetrious Johnson’s 125-pound title; Borg (9-2) is No. 8.
“I definitely think my life’s gonna change dramatically after I beat Formiga,” Borg told mmafighting.com. “People around the world are gonna know how legit I am.
“After beating Formiga, I expect to have the leverage for more money and bigger fights.”
Borg and Formiga each weighed in at 126 pounds.