Brandon Moreno is staying in the main event of UFC Mexico City.
Moreno was set to headline a homecoming card against No. 11-ranked Asu Almabayev, but earlier this week, Almabayev withdrew from the bout after suffering an arm injury.
MMA Fighting has confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for rising prospect Lone’er Kavanagh to be pulled from his scheduled bout against Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 114 on March 14 to replace Almabayev. The new matchup was first reported by Al Zullino.
A two-time flyweight champion, Moreno (23-9-2) is also the first Mexican champion in UFC history, and has headlined the past two cards to take place in Mexico City. Currently No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Moreno is coming off of a knockout loss to Tatsuro Taira at UFC 323, the first stoppage loss of his career (excluding a submission loss to future rival Alexandre Pantoja on The Ultimate Fighter reality series).
Kavanagh (9-1) joined the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, earning victories over Jose Ochoa and Felipe dos Santos in his first two bouts. His most recent outing was less successful for the 26-year-old, as he was knocked out by Charles Johnson at UFC Shanghai, the first loss of his career.
UFC Mexico City takes place Feb. 28 at CDMX Arena.
As for Silva, per multiple sources, he remains on the UFC Fight Night card on March 14 against Charles Johnson, who accepted the matchup on short notice. Laerte Viana initially reported that news.
Mike Heck, Damon Martin and Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.
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