UFC President Dana White has officially announced the headliner for UFC Mexico City in February — and it’s former flyweight champ Brandon Moreno closing out the show.
Moreno (21-7-2) will face Amir Albazi (17-1) in the night’s main event. White, however, also revealed in his announcement on social media on Thursday at Brian Ortega (15-3, 1NC) will face Yair Rodriguez (15-4, 1NC) at the event. That fight, like the main event between Moreno and Albazi, will be a five-round affair, and is a rematch of their July 2022 bout.
UFC Mexico City (the promotion is running with the #UFCMexico hashtag) takes place on February 24, 2024 at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. Just a handful of fights for the card have been announced thus far.
Moreno is a two-time flyweight champion in the UFC, and has become one of the most popular fighters in the 125lb division. He’s coming off the loss of his title to current champ Alexandre Pantoja, who defended the belt this past weekend at UFC 296.
While Brandon Moreno would love to land another shot at Pantoja (they’ve met twice previously, with Pantoja getting the better of the Mexican star on both occasions), Amir Albazi represents new blood at 125lbs. “The Prince” is unbeaten in the UFC through his first five fights, and will enter the biggest fight of his career off a split decision victory over Kai Kara-France.
Brian Ortega will be looking to bounce back from a two-fight skid in Mexico City in February. “T-City,” a former featherweight title challenger, dropped his title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, then injured his shoulder in his first fight with Rodriguez. He has not fought since, but gets a chance at a do-over here.
Rodriguez, after earning a TKO victory over Ortega, went on to defeat Josh Emmett — claiming an interim 145lb title in the process. That landed him in a title fight against Volkanovski where he, too, fell short against the Australian champ.
Thus far, the following match-ups have been announced/reported for UFC Mexico City on February 24, 2024:
- Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi
- Yair Rodríguez vs. Brian Ortega
- Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe Dos Santos
- Edgar Chairez vs Daniel Lacerda
