One half of the flyweight UFC Mexico City main event is off the card.
Asu Almabayev is out of his fight with Brandon Moreno atop the Fight Night event, set for the CDMX Arena in Mexico City, Mexico on February 28, 2026.
That leaves precious little time for the promotion to find a replacement for Moreno, a former two-time flyweight champion and native of Mexico.
Ag.Fight was first to report news of Almabayev withdrawing due to injury.
Without specifying the nature of the injury, Almabayev later confirmed on social media that he had an issue with his hand/arm. “The situation is like this, I got a hand injury, two days before our flight, it suddenly appeared,” the Kazakh flyweight wrote (translation via Google Translate). “I have never been one to back down from a fight, no matter who I face or the circumstances, my preparation has been at a good level. What’s meant to happen will happen; no matter how much you try, you can’t change it.”
Moreno is heading into UFC Mexico City looking to bounce back from a loss to Tatsuro Taira. If the UFC cannot find a replacement for Almabayev, there’s a chance Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green could headline, or alternately, Ecuador’s Marlon “Chito” Vera, taking on Mexican David Martinez. The card currently looks as follows:
- Brandon Moreno vs. TBD
- Édgar Cháirez vs. Felipe Bunes
- Marlon Vera vs. David Martínez
- Imanol Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas
- Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green
- Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco
- Ryan Gandra vs. José Daniel Medina
- Macy Chiasson vs. Ailín Pérez
- Damian Pinas vs. Wesley Schultz
- Cristian Quiñonez vs. Kris Moutinho
- Sofia Montenegro vs. Ernesta Kareckaitė
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Javier Reyes
- Francis Marshall vs. Erik Silva
