UFC Mexico City Preview: Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavanagh start time, full card, how to watch

The UFC will return to Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on Saturday night, February 28th. Brandon Moreno was supposed to face Asu Almabayev in the main event of UFC Mexico City.

Unfortunately, Almabayev got injured and withdrew from the UFC Mexico City main event. Lone’er Kavanagh, who is 2-1 in the UFC, steps in on two weeks’ notice to fight Brandon Moreno.

Below is the UFC Mexico City Preview:

UFC Mexico City Fight Card

Main Card

Flyweight: Brandon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
Bantamweight: Marlon “Chito” Vera vs. David Martínez
Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green
Flyweight: Édgar Cháirez vs. Felipe Bunes
Flyweight: Imanol Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas
Bantamweight: Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Ryan Gandra vs. José Daniel Medina
Women’s Bantamweight: Ailín Pérez vs. Macy Chiasson
Bantamweight: Cristian Quiñonez vs. Kris Moutinho
Featherweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Javier Reyes
Women’s Flyweight: Sofia Montenegro vs. Ernesta Kareckaitė
Featherweight: Erik Silva vs. Francis Marshall
Middleweight: Damian Pinas vs. Wesley Schultz

UFC Mexico City Info

Date: February 28th
Location: Arena CDMX in Mexico City
Start time: 5 p.m. ET
How to watch: Paramount+

UFC Mexico City Main Event: Branon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh

Brandon Moreno (23-9-2) is the No. 6 fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings. The 32-year-old is a former two-time UFC 125-pound champion. Moreno’s first title reign began in June 2021 with a submission win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263. He returned the title to Figueiredo in their UFC 270 rematch, losing that January 2022 contest via decision.

Moreno then won the interim flyweight belt in July 2022 with a UFC 277 TKO triumph over Kai Kara-France. In January 2023, Moreno regained the undisputed UFC title from Figueiredo with a TKO victory at UFC 283.

Moreno’s second stint at 125-pounds ended without him making a successful defense. Alexandre Pantoja took the belt from him in July 2023 via split decision. Moreno then lost a split decision to Brandon Royval in February 2024.

Moreno bounced back from that loss with a decision win over Amir Albazi in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event in Edmonton in November 2024. The former champ followed that with a March 2025 decision win over Steve Erceg in Mexico City.

Moreno’s next bout came in December 2025. He was knocked out for the first time in his career on that night in Las Vegas by Tatsuro Taira. Moreno has not fought since then.

Lone’er Kavanagh (9-1) has been with the UFC since earning a contract on a Dana White’s Contender Series card in August 2024. The 26-year-old opened his UFC run with back-to-back decision wins.

In his most recent fight, Kavanagh lost for the first time, falling by knockout to Charles Johnson. Kavanagh is the No. 15 UFC flyweight. He steps into UFC Mexico City on short notice, replacing Asu Almabayev on the fight card. Kavanagh had been booked against Bruno Silva on March 14th UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex.