Lone'er Kavanagh Shocks Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico
British bantamweight Lone’er Kavanagh scored a major upset, outpointing former champion Brandon Moreno for a unanimous decision victory at UFC Mexico City. The win is the biggest of Kavanagh's career and propels him directly into title contention. Meanwhile, Marlon “Chito” Vera lost his fourth consecutive fight on the same card.
Kavanagh stepped into the main event on less than a month's notice, replacing the injured Asu Almabayev to face the former two-time champion in his home country. The official scorecards for his unanimous decision victory read 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47. The win marked a dramatic turnaround for the 26-year-old Briton, who was coming off the first loss of his professional career, a knockout defeat to Charles Johnson in August 2025. This was Kavanagh's first UFC main event and his first time scheduled for a five-round fight. For Brandon Moreno, the loss in front of his Mexico City home crowd was his second in a row and his fourth in his last six bouts. The 32-year-old Tijuana native was attempting to rebound from the first stoppage loss of his career, a TKO defeat against Tatsuro Taira in December 2025. Throughout the fight, Kavanagh effectively used leg kicks and sharp counter-punching, rocking Moreno with a combination in the second round. Moreno found some success slowing the fight down with his wrestling and clinch work in the third and fourth rounds, but Kavanagh's pressure and more significant damage ultimately swayed the judges. In the bantamweight co-main event, Marlon "Chito" Vera lost a unanimous decision to David Martinez, with all three judges scoring the bout 29-28. The defeat extends the 33-year-old Ecuadorian's losing streak to four consecutive fights.
