MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 27: Brandon Moreno (L) and Lone'er Kavanagh (R) face off during the UFC Fight Night official weigh-in, at the Intercontinental hotel, in Mexico City, Mexico on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty ImagesAlexander K. LeeSun, March 1, 2026 at 4:13 AM UTC·3 min readThis is the live blog for Brandon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh, the flyweight main event for Saturday’s UFC Mexico card at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
Moreno is No. 7 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while the unranked Kavanagh steps in on short notice as a replacement for an injured Asu Almabayev.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA two-time UFC champion, Moreno (23-9-2) finds himself in unfamiliar territory coming off of the first knockout loss of his career, a result that is part of a 2-3 slump for the Mexican star. Moreno saw a two-fight win streak snapped by Tatsuro Taira at UFC 323 this past December, and looks to jump start his run to a third championship reign by knocking off Kavanagh, a top prospect.
Kavanagh (9-1) also looks to rebound after taking his first loss at the hands of veteran Charles Johnson. The 26-year-old Englishman established himself as one to watch after an impressive first-round knockout of An Tuan Ho in 2024, and won his first two fights before Johnson stopped him. Should Kavanagh pull off the upset tonight, it will cause a major shakeup in the rankings.
Check out the Brandon Moreno vs. Lone’er Kavanagh live blog below.
Preamble
Brandon Moreno is coming home. Was the Tatsuro Taira loss simply a bump in the road or is the two-time champ about to lose ground to another up-and-coming fighter again?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlways tell me the odds
Plenty of respect for Moreno at -205 on FanDuel, but maybe not as much as you’d expect given the wide gap in experience and level of competition. Kavanagh only a slight underdog at +172.
Walkouts
Round 1
Herb Dean the third man in the cage for the main event.
Quick jab from Moreno has catches a kicking Kavanagh off balance. Kavanagh gets in and out and avoids a big counter. Moreno scores with a lunging left. Counter left from Kavanagh gets Moreno’s attention. Kavanagh mixing in kicks to the lead leg well. Moreno caps off a combination with a body shot. Nice jab from Moreno. Kavanagh really using his legs well. Looping right from Moreno glances Kavanagh’s chin. He ventures in, but Kavanagh makes him pay with a crisp counter punch. Moreno again with a left hand from long range. Outside leg kick from Moreno. Kavanagh takes a right and backs out of danger. They trade jabs. Kavanagh is mixing up his strikes so well. Edge to him in a competitive round.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Kavanagh.
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
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