Under the bright lights of Arena CDMX, Mexico’s fighting pride returns home with something to prove. Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno steps back into familiar territory on Saturday night, headlining UFC Mexico City against surging contender Lone’er Kavanagh.
Moreno (23-9-2) was originally scheduled to face Asu Almabayev at UFC Mexico City, but an injury forced the Kazakh contender off the card. Stepping in to replace him is Kavanagh, who now finds himself thrust into a high-profile opportunity against a former champion on hostile territory. The late opponent change adds another layer of intrigue to an already pivotal flyweight clash.
“I was fine with it. UFC made it clear that they would get me another opponent, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Moreno told reporters on Wednsday.
“I spoke with my team and figured the work had already been done, we had already made our way to Mexico City. The physical toll of training, the financial cost of camp and getting everybody to Mexico, so canceling the fight never crossed my mind.”
Moreno arrived in Mexico City only to learn a few days later that he would be facing a new opponent in Kavanagh. The switch raised eyebrows among fans, particularly given that Kavanagh is coming off a knockout loss to Charles Johnson. Still, the former flyweight champion understands that while the replacement may not carry the biggest name value, he remains a dangerous and unpredictable threat inside the cage.
“Obviously in name value he offers nothing, but he’s still very dangerous. He’s very good technically, very explosive, he’s aggressive and he’s young. So he’s coming in hungry,” he said.
“He’s the underdog. Most people don’t know who he is so he’ll try to use me to boost his name. That makes him dangerous, but I feel very good, what can I say?”
Asked about the possibility of competing on the UFC’s proposed White House card later this year, Moreno didn’t hesitate when addressing the speculation. The former champion made it clear that the idea holds no appeal for him in the least.
“Brother, I want you to tell me, why would I want to fight there,” said Moreno.
“I’m not interested in that at all, thank you very much.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Brandon Moreno above. He faces Lone’er Kavanagh at UFC Mexico City on Saturday night.
Translation by Cageside Press.