UFC Mexico results: Lone'er Kavanagh upsets Brandon Moreno; 'Chito' Vera loses fourth straight
Lone'er Kavanagh stunned the Arena CDMX crowd in Mexico City with a unanimous decision over brandon moreno, handing the former two-time flyweight champion a setback. The English underdog took the fight on short notice and delivered a performance that shifted the division picture.
Brandon Moreno in Mexico City
The headline fight ended with Kavanagh winning by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) over Brandon Moreno at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Moreno, the former two-time flyweight champion with a record of 23-10-2, started strongly by cracking Kavanagh with a clean, consistent overhand right and sharp left hooks while pressing forward.
Kavanagh's turning moment in Round 2
Kavanagh, listed in the bout paperwork as 10-1 and described as having taken the contest on short notice, flipped the fight in Round 2. The Englishman detonated a blistering counter combination that badly wobbled Moreno, then kept him at bay with calf kicks and crisp straight shots. Kavanagh's attack included tight boxing in close, stabbing front kicks and a spinning back kick that repeatedly interrupted Moreno's advances.
Moreno's pressure and cage exchanges
Moreno responded in the third round, ramping up pressure, repeatedly landing his overhand right and forcing clinch exchanges along the fence. He shot consistently, grinding Kavanagh against the cage and landing knees to the thigh and short elbows inside. Despite those moments, Kavanagh stayed dangerous — targeting the leg, sneaking in hooks and punctuating exchanges with spinning back kicks — and ultimately survived Moreno's late surge.
Context: notice, records and reactions
Kavanagh, 26, took the fight on just three weeks' notice after the original headliner, Asu Almabayev, withdrew because of injury. The Briton had entered the bout unranked and came in on the heels of the first defeat of his 11-fight career: a vicious knockout loss to Charles Johnson last August. The victory in Mexico City was the 10th of Kavanagh's 11-fight career and moves him toward the top end of the flyweight picture; he has won three of his four UFC fights.
Moreno now finds himself 2-4 in his last six bouts, a downturn highlighted by this loss in front of his home fans. Kavanagh framed the result in emotional terms after the fight: "I said before this fight - I live for legendary moments, " he said. "This is a legendary moment. Brandon is a legend. Two-time world champ. I'm a big fan. I watched him when I was a kid. To get to fight him is amazing. " -style applause greeted the upset, as Kavanagh — an underdog who many viewed with little faith after his August loss — emerged sharp on the biggest stage.
Co-main: Vera loses fourth straight
In the co-main event, one-time title challenger Marlon "Chito" Vera (23-12-1) failed to snap his worst career slump, dropping a unanimous decision to rising bantamweight prospect David Martinez (14-1). The judges scored that fight 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 for Martinez. Martinez found himself on the back foot for most of the fight, but his speed and volume were the difference-makers — traits that have proved kryptonite for Vera in recent years — leaving Vera with a fourth straight defeat.
