Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavanagh Preview & Picks – Moreno To Delight Home Crowd At UFC Mexico

leigh-copson
23 Feb 2026
Leigh Copson 23 Feb 2026
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  • Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavanagh picks for Saturday, February 28
  • UFC Mexico is taking place at Arena CDMX in Mexico
  • Preview, predictions, stats & form
Brandon Moreno (Getty Images)

Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavanagh Preview & Picks

Brandon Moreno is tipped to win this flyweight contest via knockout.

Moreno remains an elite fighter in this weight class and, roared on by a home crowd, we expect him to overwhelm Lone’er Kavanagh before stopping him.

  • 16 of Brandon Moreno’s 23 career wins have been via stoppage
  • Brandon Moreno has a huge experience advantage with 19 previous UFC fights
  • Lone’er Kavanagh was knocked out in his only career defeat

Brandon Moreno Form

Brandon Moreno is a two-time former UFC flyweight champion and the current number six ranked contender with a career record of 23-9-2 (5 KOs, 11 Subs).

Moreno debuted in the UFC back in 2017 and quickly rose the ladder as he sandwiched a split decision win over Ryan Benoit with submission successes against Louis Smolka and Dustin Ortiz.

That run was halted by unanimous decision defeats to Sergio Pettis and Alexandre Pantoja, and following a June 2019 victory in a minor promotion, he returned to the UFC for a split decision draw with Askar Askarov in September of that year.

The 32-year-old then ended his UFC drought with unanimous points wins over Kai Kara-France and Jussier Formiga, before earning a flyweight title fight with a first-round knockout of Brandon Royval.

Moreno went to a majority draw with Deiveson Figueiredo in that title fight, but when the two men fought again in an immediate rematch he took the flyweight crown via third-round submission.

‘Assassin Baby’ surrendered it back to Figueiredo in the trilogy fight, losing by decision, but following a third-round knockout of Kai Kara-France he regained the flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Figueiredo.

His reign proved to be brief as he dropped a split decision to Alexandre Pantoja, and he then suffered another split points loss as he was beaten by Brandon Royval.

Moreno finally stopped the rot as he beat Amir Albazi on points, and he backed that up with a unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg last March.

The Mexican fighter failed to make it three-in-a-row though, as he was knocked out in the second round by Tatsuro Taira last December.

Lone’er Kavanagh Form

Lone’er Kavanagh is the number 15 ranked flyweight contender with a professional record of 9-1 (5 KOs, 1 Sub).

Kavanagh debuted in the UFC in late 2024 following a successful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series that saw him knock out An Tuan Ho in 155 seconds.

He marked his first outing in the Octagon with a unanimous decision win over Jose Ochoa, and backed that up last March as he beat Felipe dos Santos on points.

The 26-year-old Englishman was unable to maintain his perfect record though, as he was knocked out in the second round by Charles Johnson last August.

Verdict

A late change in opponent is not ideal, but Brandon Moreno remains one of the best flyweight fighters on the planet.

This fight may have come too soon for Lone’er Kavanagh, and we are backing Moreno to give him a taste of what it is like fighting at the very top of this division.

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