Ex-UFC Champion Reportedly Accepts Risky Fight for New UFC Mexico Main Event

One UFC flyweight contender is reportedly set to try and rebound from his first loss with what will easily be the biggest fight of his career.

Scheduled to take place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City at the end of this month, UFC Mexico took a massive hit yesterday when the news broke that #7-ranked Asu Almabayaev had suffered an injury and was out of his headlining fight with Brandon Moreno.

Losing Almabayaev put the UFC in a tough position with only a few weeks to go until UFC Mexico, but Al Zullino reports that #15-ranked Lone’er Kavanagh has been pulled from his upcoming matchup to step in and meet Moreno in Mexico City.

Lone'er Kavanagh Steps Up For UFC Mexico Main Event

Currently sitting at #15 in the official UFC flyweight rankings, Kavanagh earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024 when he scored a first-round knockout against An Tuan Ho in a battle between undefeated flyweight prospects.

The former Cage Warriors standout made his formal promotional debut later that year and took a unanimous decision over Jose Ochoa. Kavanagh went on to improve his unbeaten record to 9-0 last March when he also defeated Felipe dos Santos via decision and earn a step up in competition at UFC Shanghai against Charles Johnson, who stopped the 26-year-old with strikes in the second round.

Lone’er Kavanagh (red gloves) fights against Felipe dos Santos (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Kavanagh was scheduled to return against Bruno Silva at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas on March 14, but now he’ll take advantage of a short-notice opportunity to face a two-time UFC titleholder in Moreno’s home country.

Brandon Moreno Gets For Risky Matchup After Controversial Loss

The UFC’s #5-ranked flyweight contender, Moreno’s second reign with the flyweight belt ended in mid-2023 when Alexandre Pantoja defeated him via split decision at UFC 290.

“The Assassin Baby” also fell short in his next outing against Brandon Royval but rebounded with back-to-back unanimous decisions over top flyweight contenders Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg. Possibly on the cusp of another title shot, Moreno squared off with Tatsuro Taira at UFC 323 but lost via a somewhat-controversial TKO stoppage in the second round.

Brandon Moreno (red gloves) fights Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Moreno was already set to fight a couple spots down the rankings against Almabayev but now faces a young contender with absolutely everything to gain from his short-notice opportunity, and fans will get to see if Kavanagh is able to pull off the upset when UFC Mexico takes place on February 28.

UFC Mexico Fight Card

• Main Event: Brandon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh

• Co-Main Event: Macy Chiasson vs. Ailin Perez

• Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green

• Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez

• Edgar Chairez vs. Felipe Bunes

• Imanol Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas

• Jose Medina vs. Ryan Gandra

• Wes Schultz vs. Damian Pinas

• Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco

• Christian Quiñonez vs. Kris Moutinho

• Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Sofia Montenegro

• Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Javier Reyes

• Erik Silva vs. Francis Marshall

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