It’s been a while since I’ve been inspired to write one of these, but UFC Mexico City was the rare UFC Fight Night event that generated more storylines than simply “this guy beat that guy (or gal), let’s move on.”
From a shocking upset in the night’s main event to resurgences and freefalls for a couple of veteran stars, the Mexico City card was both entertaining, and pivotal to several careers. Not the least of which is Lone’er Kavanagh, who shocked just about everyone with a stellar performance in the night’s main event that saw him outclass a former two-time flyweight champion.
Lone’er Kavanagh Arrives with the Upset of the Year
Lone’er Kavanagh has arrived.
The smart money at UFC Mexico City on Saturday was on Brandon Moreno when it came to the night’s flyweight main event. Moreno, a former two-time flyweight champion in the UFC, remains one of the best in the weight class. He reminded us of that with wins over Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg in 2024 and 2025. Yes, he finished 2025 with a loss to Tatsuro Taira, but Moreno is far from done, and Taira is next up for a title shot.
When Asu Almabayev, Moreno’s original opponent for the UFC Mexico City headliner, fell to injury, the UFC was forced to scramble. The bottom line is that they did not want to run an event in Mexico City without Moreno, their biggest active Mexican star, attached. Could they have moved forward without him? Sure, but it wouldn’t have been the same.
For whatever reason, the promotion could not come up with a ranked opponent for Moreno. Kyoji Horiguchi confirmed in February that the UFC did reach out to him, but he didn’t want to pull out of his fight with Amir Albazi. Instead, he told the company that he’d fight Moreno if he beat Albazi. Too much of a gamble, especially if Horiguchi lost or took too much damage. He didn’t, but you can’t blame the UFC for moving on.
They landed on Kavanagh. 26-years old, unranked, just three fights in the UFC (the Mexico card was his fourth). And coming off a loss to Charles “Inner G” Johnson. So yes, the smart money was on Moreno, but no one told Lone’er Kavanagh that.
If you followed Kavanagh’s career in Cage Warriors and caught his Contender Series performance against An Tuan Ho, another highly touted flyweight prospect, then you know that Kavanagh is considered a future star at 125lbs. For others, Saturday might have come as a shock.
Even if you recognized Kavanagh’s talents, however, did you have him beating Brandon Moreno on short notice? Be honest now. It’s only February (March as of this article’s publication), and we have a bona fide Upset of the Year contender. One that is going to be very, very hard to beat.
Lone’er Kavanagh has arrived. Expect a big booking for him next time out. And it appears he even has a fan in Jon Jones, with Kavanagh revealing during the UFC Mexico City post-fight press conference that the superstar had called him to laud his leg kicks.
Chito Vera’s Career Is Far From Over, but His Days As a Contender Are
Back at UFC 299, Marlon “Chito” Vera was at the top of the world. As someone who has spent the better part of ten years covering UFC events in person, I witnessed something I’d never seen before: taking on Sean O’Malley at the height of the “Suga Show’s” fame, it was Vera getting not one, but two media day sessions in Miami.
Ecuadorian media in particular and Spanish language media in general had turned out in such numbers that the media room could barely contain everyone. So Vera did one session in English, and a second in Spanish. He was getting the star treatment, and had he won the title that Saturday, his profile would no doubt have exploded.
The problem is, Vera didn’t win against O’Malley, and he hasn’t won since. Saturday found Chito Vera with his back to the wall, with three straight losses. And as he historically has, he got off to a slow start in the UFC Mexico co-main event, where he’d eventually lose a decision to David Martinez.
Vera didn’t just have a slow start. He essentially had no start. Martinez was a step ahead the entire fight. It wasn’t just a speed issue, though Martinez did appear a little quicker. Vera just didn’t seem to have many explosive moments in him. His killer instinct appeared to have lost its edge.
Chito Vera is far from done, mind you. He’s a big enough star in the UFC (in an era that sorely lacks superstars and has seen even moderate stars like Vera dwindle) to survive four straight losses. The cynical side of me wants to say that if Sam Alvey can go on a nine fight winless streak (eight losses and a draw), anyone can, but the reality is few fighters get that sort of leeway from the UFC.
Vera should, and likely will. But his days as a contender are done. At 33, Vera is about to age out in terms of bantamweight contendership, and he’s as far from the title as ever. He’s going to slip into gatekeeper status, assuming he wants to continue fighting. A couple of wins, and he’s back in co-main events and perhaps headlining Fight Nights. It’s been a hell of a run for Chito, and we’re not calling time on his career, but the reality is we’ve likely seen his best.
Now it’s time for fun fights. There’s a lot of those out there for a fighter like Chito Vera.
