Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will set up shop across the border for the upcoming UFC Mexico City mixed martial arts (MMA) event, streaming TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 24, 2024) LIVE on ESPN+. UFC Mexico City will be topped by the 125-pound showdown pitting former flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, against longtime rival and No. 3-ranked title contender Brandon Royval, a five-round showdown with a spot in the division title chase hanging in the balance. Before that headlining clash of styles gets underway, rough-and-tumble featherweight bruiser, Yair Rodriguez, collides with former Modelo mainstay, Brian Ortega, a rematch from their UFC Long Island “technical knockout” back in summer 2022.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Mexico City fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET. Bet on all the UFC Mexico City action with our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook right here.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Moreno vs. Royval 2.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC Mexico City results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action).
UFC MEXICO CITY QUICK RESULTS:
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan
Cristian Quinonez vs. Raoni Barcelos
Jesus Aguilar vs. Mateus Mendonca
Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda — Chairez def. Lacerda by submission (triangle choke) at 2:17 of Round One
Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam — Ziam def. Puelles by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Luis Rodríguez vs. Denys Bondar — Rodriguez def. Bondar by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:59 of Round Two — HIGHLIGHTS!
Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe dos Santos — dos Santos def. Altamirano by split decision (27-30, 29-28 x2)
Muhammad Naimov vs. Erik Silva — Naimov def. Silva by TKO (knee injury) at 0:44 of Round One
UFC MEXICO CITY PLAY-BY-PLAY:
125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
115 lbs.: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Cristian Quinonez vs. Raoni Barcelos
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Jesus Aguilar vs. Mateus Mendonca
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Round 1: Chairez falls way short with a flying knee to start. Both land body kicks. They continue to fire kicks at each other, including a Hug Tornado from Chairez. One minute in. Again both land body kicks, Chairez follows with a solid right cross. He gets too aggressive in pursuit and Lacerda takes him down into guard. Nice elbows from Lacerda. Chairez responds with a tight triangle and Lacerda taps the second it’s in.
Final result: Chairez def. Lacerda by submission (triangle choke)
155 lbs.: Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam
Round 1: Ziam opens with a leg kick, then gets taken down into butterfly guard. He scoots to the fence a minute in and Puelles tries to play backpack, but settles for taking him back down into half guard.Elbow from Puelles, Ziam unable to hit a sweep. Two minutes in. Ziam works to his feet and uses a whizzer to deny the next mat return. He gets over-unders and separates. Two minutes to go.
Hard body shot by Ziam. Puelles feints a shot and tries a head kick, but Ziam catches him on one leg with a jab and sends him to the mat. Ziam hammers for the finish, then lets him up when it’s not there. Strong sprawl from Ziam to defend a shot and he limp-legs out. One minute to go. Easy double-leg by Puelles into side control. Looking for an armbar or kimura. He transitions to a kneebar in the final seconds. 10-9 Ziam.
Round 2: Ziam falls short with a head kick, then frames to avoid a shot. Puelles shoots again and Ziam counters to land on top in half guard. Puelles regains guard and Ziam bails a minute in. Ziam tries a 1-2-1 and blocks a head kick. Slowly pushing forward. Sneaky knees by Ziam. Puelles shoots, powers through the crossface, and takes Ziam down again two minutes in. He quickly moves to mount, but Ziam regains half guard. Elbow from Puelles. Two minutes to go.
Ziam works to his feet and Puelles plays backpack, but Ziam takes him down and turns into top half guard. Now full with a minute to go. Ziam postures and drops a nasty elbow. More ground-and-pound. Elbows to the body, then some big punches. 10-9 Ziam.
Round 3: Puelles ties up and both men hunt for trips. Ziam puts him on the fence, firing knees to the thigh a minute in. Puelles reverses and changes levels, Ziam initially defends before latching onto a Marcelotine. Puelles rolls free and they return to their feet, wheerre Puelles hits a double-leg into guard. Two minutes in. Puelles not doing anything on top. Ziam things about a guillotine with two minutes to go.
Puelles moves to side control. Ziam uses an underhook to sweep to his feet and they end up in an awkward scramble with Ziam ultimately taking him down into guard. One minute to go. Elbow to the body. Ziam postures up and drops some hard punches and elbows until Puelles spins to his knees. 10-9 Ziam
Final result: Ziam def. Puelles by split decision
125 lbs.: Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Denys Bondar
Round 1: Low kick, body jab, teep from Bendar. Spinning back kick whiffs, as do Rodriguez’s counters. Both land low kicks, then Bondar cracks him with an overhand right to set up a successful double-leg. Rodriguez gives up his back, then sweeps into guard and lets Bondar back to his feet. Low kick exchange, then another brutal right hand to double-leg by Bondar. Half guard for Bondar, dropping shots. Two minutes in. Rodriguez regains guard and eats hammerfists as he looks for submissions. Trying to set up a triangle, no dice. Bondar stands to get past the guard, just misses with a knee in the way up. Solid body shots. Two minutes to go.
Bondar misses a spinning back fist. Stiff jab connects. Uppercut met by a combo from Rodriguez. Bondar comes back with a spinning elbow and absorbs a right cross. Body kick from Rodriguez, spinning back kick from Bondar. One minute to go. Rodriguez cracks him with a left hook and low kick, then gives up a single-leg but sweeps into top position. Left hands from Rodriguez on the way up. 10-9 Bondar.
Round 2: Bondar firing kicks, weathers a two-piece. Brutal spinning elbow by Bondar and Rodriguez taunts in response. Anotehr takedown by Bondar after eating a low kick. Rodriguez hunting a kimura a minute in, but Bondar steps over for an armbar. Rodriguez sweeps into top position and extracts his arm, but Bondar puts him on the fence. Knees from Rodriguez. Bondar warned for grabbing the fence and gloves, exits with an elbow. Solid jab two minutes in. Low kick by Rodriguez. Bondar looks like he may be fading a bit, but still hits a clean single-leg. He looks for the back, but falls over the top. Rodriguez takes his back in return, wrapping up the body triangle. Two minutes to go.
Rodriguez landing punches from back mount as Bondar tries to turn. Bondar makes it into top position with a minute to go, then falls back for a heel hook. Rodriguez escapes and drops punches from half guard. Bondar seems like he’s out of juice. Heavy left hands from Rodriguez and he takes the back, then wraps up the RNC. It’s as deep as can be and Bondar taps with a second left on the clock.
Final result: Rodriguez def. Bondar by submission (rear naked choke) — WATCH HIGHLIGHTS!
125 lbs.: Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe dos Santos
Round 1: Altamirano firing off the back foot, sending out kicks and quick combos. Counter right from dos Santos. Side kick from Altamirano, who avoids a combo and takes dos Santos down a minute in. dos Santos quickly stands and cracks him with an elbow on the exit. Side kick by Altamirano. Awkward combo falls short. Two minutes in. dos Santos uncharacteristically patient. He steps in and Altamirano grabs a body lock to take him down against the fence. Back up, back down, back up. dos Santos looks for a guillotine on the next takedown, then scoots to the fence with two minutes to go.
dos Santos stands, then exits with a knee. Altamirano tries a front kick, then trips dos Santos up with a well-timed low kick. Another reactive double-leg after avoiding an ugly overhand right. One minute to go. dos Santos stuck on his butt against the fence. He gets to his feet, gets taken down yet again, kicks Altamirano off. 10-9 Altamirano.
Round 2: dos Santos tries to throw some kicks of his own. Altamirano responds by knocking him over with a side kick, though he doesn’t capitalize. Low kick by dos Santos, Altamirano ties up a minute in. Snap kick from dos Santos, who counters a low kick with a straight right. They feint at each other for a while, then dos Santos crashes forward two minutes in. Low kick by Altamirano. Altamirano clinches again, both land knees, elbow and right hand by dos Santos on the exit. Front kick to switch kick to right hand, Altamirano answers with a takedown into guard. Two minutes to go.
Altamirano postures up to drop an elbow, then avoids a triangle. dos Santos gets to his feet, eats an knee to the body. He tries a head kick on the break. One minute to go. Solid counters by dos Santos, then a knee inside. Altamirano tries a head kick. dos Santos wings a right hand and Altamirano takes him down again. 10-9 Altamirano.
Round 3: Hard counter right by dos Santos, who cracks Altamirano with elbows and hits a beautiful back take. Hunting the RNC, Altamirano fighting the hands well, scrambles free a minute in. Body kicks by Altamirano, who just avoids an overhand right. Low kick. Front kick from dos Santos as he pushes forward. Altamirano changes levels under dos Santos’ overhand right for the umpteenth time and takes him down two minutes in. He avoids upkicks to move to side control, then looks for the back. dos Santos makes it to his feet, Altamirano still attached. Two minutes to go.
Elbows to the thigh from dos Santos, who separates and eats a pair of shots in the process. Hard counter right lands for him. Both wing punches, neither lands clean. One minute to go. Altamirano ties up and lands a pair of knees before separating. Nice left hook by dos Santos, then a long right hand. dos Santos wading forward with ugly punches. Knee to left hand. 10-9 dos Santos; comes down to how they score the second.
Final result: dos Santos def. Altamirano by split decision
145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Erik Silva
Round 1: Naimov’s very first strike is a wheel kick that appears to connect and put Silva on his rear, but replays show that “King’s” left knee gave out. Silva manages to tie up and put Naimov on the fence, but when Naimov counters with an inside trip, the pain is too much and the ref steps in.
Final result: Naimov def. Silva by TKO (knee injury)
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