It’s not every day fight fans get to watch a former champion fight for free. Some of the best fighters in the world, including four top five contenders, will head to Mexico this weekend for another UFC Fight Night on ESPN+. Two huge fights and some other interesting matchups should make for an exciting night.
Fresh off of dropping his title last year, a former champion will look to regain some momentum as he steps back into the octagon against a former opponent and top challenger. Plus, two of the very best featherweights in the world will meet in a potential championship eliminator and two unranked lightweights will look to stay hot and crack the top 15.
Lightweight bout: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
After losing his UFC debut in 2022, Daniel Zellhuber has won two in a row, bringing his professional record to an impressive 14-1, with seven knockouts. At just 24 years old, he looks to be a fast rising star with, not only some viscous knockout power, but also submission skills that have allowed him to lock up a win by calf slicer and, in his most recent outing, an anaconda choke victory. A third straight win would be a big feather in the cap of this young lightweight, who could be looking for a ranked opponent next.
And while Zellhuber is likely accustomed to being the younger fighter in the cage, Francisco Prado will be stepping in at just 21 years of age for this bout. And yet, even at such a young age, Prado already boasts a store 12-1 record with six knockouts and six submissions. In other words, all of his victories have been finishes. His only loss came in his UFC debut last year, when he dropped a decision against Jamie Mullarkey. He has since recovered with a knockout win last summer and will be looking to build momentum en route to a ranked opponent of his own. With these two young stars squaring off, the winners will very likely be the fans and the UFC.
Featherweight bout: Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega
Every now and then, the UFC gives us a big main event on a free Fight Night card. It’s rare however, to see a co-main event as big as this one. Yair Rodriguez has been one of the top contenders in the featherweight division for years and he is fresh off of a loss to then-champion Alexander Volkanovski. With a 19-4 record and eight knockouts, Rodriguez is undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters in this class. He’s a dangerous grappler, as he proved with his most recent victory – a triangle choke of Josh Emmett. He’s also a skilled striker, as he proved with his highlight reel knockout of Chan Sung Jung a few years back. Rodriguez is a difficult puzzle to solve and that’s one of the reasons this will be such an interesting fight.
Another reason, is that this is a rematch. And for Brian Ortega, this is an immediate rematch as his most recent fight was his 2022 showdown with Rodriguez which was stopped due to Ortega suffering a shoulder injury in the first round. Both fighter has remained near the top of the featherweight rankings ever since, so another meeting was inevitable. For Ortega though, this is a very important fight. The former title challenger has lost three of his last four, albeit against Volkanovski, Max Holloway (who was also champion at the time) and Rodriguez. He has also dealt with more than his fair share of injuries, having fought only three times since the end of 2018. Prior to that, he was a perfect 15-0 and one of the most dangerous grapplers in the game. In fact, he earned the nickname T-City because of his triangle choke, which has won him four fights. If this fight goes to the ground, it will be a very interesting matchup. Look for Rodriguez to try and keep this fight on the feet.
Flyweight bout: Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
This is a very interesting dynamic for a main event. A former champion squares off against a top contender, with both guys looking to get another shot at the crown. However, these two guys also happen to be the last two challengers for Alexandre Pantoja, the current UFC Flyweight champion. And to add another layer of intrigue, these two have already met in the octagon before.
In the last few years of writing these UFC previews, I’m not sure there’s a fighter I’ve covered more than Brandon Moreno. The former flyweight champion is coming off of his unprecedented four-fight series with Deiveson Figueiredo, with a win over Kai Kara-France mixed in, and his championship loss to Pantoja. Prior to those six fights, Moreno faced Brandon Royval and won by knockout in the first round. Of course, both of these fighters have grown tremendously since that 2020 meeting, so expecting a repeat would be foolish. However, Moreno has proven that he can be the very best flyweight in the world, capturing the crown on two different occasions in the back three years. He’s a lightning fast striker and a very skilled grappler, but his greatest tool is simply his tenacity. Moreno is going to push the pace and wear down his opponent at all costs and, more often than not, it works.
All of those same things can be said about Royval except one: he’s never captured the championship. Royal is certainly one of those incredibly talented fighters who has just been unable to win the big one. Since joining the UFC in 2020, he sports a 5-3 record with three submissions and one knockout. All three of his losses though have come against fighters who have worn the flyweight championship (Moreno and Pantoja twice). This is a particularly tough spot for Royval because it is rare for the UFC to give a fighter a third fight against an opponent who has already beaten him twice. So while a win here would almost certainly put Royval next in line for a title shot, as long as Pantoja holds that title, it feels unlikely. Still, this is a huge opportunity for Royval to get over the hump.
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval will be held Saturday, February 24 at 10:00 PM ET. Fight fans can watch live on ESPN+.