UFC Mexico City has a main event again, and it’s a bizarre one at first glance.
After Asu Almabayev was forced out of the headlining bout on February 28, where he was to fight Brandon Moreno (23-9-2), the promotion has tapped the #15-ranked flyweight, Lone’er Kavanagh (9-1).
Moreno, a former two-time UFC champion at 125lbs, is ranked #4 in the weight class. Somehow, no one was available from #5 down, all the way to Kavanagh.
Bizarre to say the least. Kavanagh, 26, is 2-1 under the UFC banner, and coming off a loss to Charles “Inner G” Johnson, the first setback of his career. It’s rare to see a fighter get this kind of push off a loss, but with the event just weeks away, a body was needed.
Kavanagh came to the UFC by way of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, and was previously a highly touted, undefeated prospect for Cage Warriors, the U.K.’s premiere MMA promotion.
The timing of the fight likely played a role: Kavanagh had been scheduled to face Buno Silva in March.
With Kavangh stepping in, UFC Mexico on February 28 at the CDMX Arena in Mexico City, Mexico now breaks down as follows:
- Brandon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
- Édgar Cháirez vs. Felipe Bunes
- Marlon Vera vs. David Martínez
- Imanol Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas
- Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green
- Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco
- Ryan Gandra vs. José Daniel Medina
- Macy Chiasson vs. Ailín Pérez
- Damian Pinas vs. Wesley Schultz
- Cristian Quiñonez vs. Kris Moutinho
- Sofia Montenegro vs. Ernesta Kareckaitė
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Javier Reyes
- Francis Marshall vs. Erik Silva
