UFC Fight Night Mexico Highlights

UFC Fight Night Mexico took place this past Saturday Feb 24, 2024, in Mexico City, Mexico at Arena CDMX.

The event featured over a dozen Latino fighters and 13 different matchups. Enjoy a recap of the event!

Main Card

The main event of the night included Mexican fighter Brandon Moreno against Brandon Royval of the United States. Moreno is a 30-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico with a 21-7-1 record. Months into his training Moreno had to pivot and study a new opponent. As the original name on the card, Amir Albazi suffered a neck injury ruling himself out. UFC named Royval the new headliner of the fight.

Royval is a 31-year-old fighter out of Denver, Colorado. Royval had a 15-7-0 record in his professional career. The two fighters have faced off before. In 2020 at UFC 255, Moreno secured a win against Royval by TKO in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Back to UFC fight night in a fight in the Flyweight bout. Both fighters came into the fight hungry. Both had suffered losses in their previous belts. It would take all five rounds for us to find a winner. Moreno ended the fight with a total striking percentage of 54.3 takedowns. This was not good enough to secure the victory as the judges ruled Royval the winner of the fight. Royal’s significant strikes were 145 compared to Moreno’s 112. Leading to his victory.

Royal’s record now stands at 16-7 and Moreno’s is 21-8-2.

Co-Main Event

A fight in the featherweight class was the co-main event of the night. Yair Rodriguez out of Parral, Mexico went up against Brian Ortega of the United States. Both fighters came into the match with a ton of experience. Rodriguez is 31 years old and Ortega is 33.

During the pre-match announcements, Ortega was seen jumping and stretching in the octagon. While landing in the middle of his jumps he landed on his ankle causing it to roll. In round one Rodriguez dominated the fight, landing more punches and knocking down Ortega. The fight’s momentum was all on Rodriguez’s side. Ortega did not let it phase him, he gathered himself in between the rounds and bounced back having a great round two. His dominance continued as Ortega was able to get Rodriguez into a triangle lock causing him to tap out. Sealing Rodriguez’s 16th career victory.

Lightweight bout

A pair of Latinos shared the octagon in the lightweight division. 24-year-old Mexican Daniel Zellhuber fought against Argentina Francisco Prado.

The fight on paper seemed not too exciting. With zero takedowns, submission attempts, and knockdowns occurring. The match went all three rounds and both fighters fought with technique and hoped the judges would rule in one of their favors. All judges unanimously voted Zellhuber the winner of the fight. Zellhuber edged out Prado in total strikes and significant strike percentage. Zellhuber continues his ascension in the UFC with a now 15-1 record. Prado is currently at 12-2 in his career.

Women’s strawweight bout

Mexican female fighter Yazmin Jauregui went three full rounds against competitor Sam Hughes from the United States. Both came into the fight winning their previous matches.

Like the fights earlier in the day, the judges valued significant strikes. Jauregui les Hughes in that category with a total of 94 and Hughes 83. The judges ruled by unanimous decision in favor of Jauregui. Hughes’s career record is at a respectable 8-6. While Jauregui continues to win at an 11-1 record.

Lightweight bout
The shortest fight of the night was the first one. Setting the tone for the rest of the event. Manuel Torres from Mexico squared off against Chris Duncan from Scotland. The fight would reach the one minute and forty-second mark. When Torres caught Duncan in the Rear Naked Choke hold. The fighters were on the canvas for a few seconds then Duncan tapped out. Crowning Torres is the winner of the night.