TLDR
- Asu Almabayev withdrew from UFC Fight Night 268 main event due to arm injury sustained two days before fight
- Lone’er Kavanagh replaces Almabayev to face Brandon Moreno on February 28 in Mexico City
- Kavanagh is unranked with a 9-1 record and coming off a knockout loss to Charles Johnson
- Moreno is ranked No. 5 and looking to rebound from first career TKO loss to Tatsuro Taira in December
- The card also features Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez, Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green, and Macy Chiasson vs. Ailin Perez
Sources: BJPenn.com | MMA Fighting | ESPN MMA
Brandon Moreno will face a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 268 after Asu Almabayev withdrew from their scheduled main event bout due to injury. The former UFC flyweight champion will now meet Lone’er Kavanagh on February 28 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Almabayev revealed on Instagram that he suffered an arm injury two days before his scheduled flight to Mexico City. The 32-year-old fighter was forced to pull out of what would have been the highest-profile fight of his UFC career.
“The situation is like this, I got an arm injury two days before our flight,” Almabayev wrote. “I don’t want to talk about the injury … no matter how much you [try], I can’t change it.”
The Kazakhstani fighter held a 6-1 record in the UFC and was ranked No. 7 in the flyweight division. He had won back-to-back fights against Jose Ochoa and Alex Perez in 2025 before the injury forced his withdrawal.
Brandon Moreno Now Faces Lone'er Kavanagh in Bizarre UFC Mexico City Main Event via @CagesidePress #MMA #UFC #UFCMexicoCity https://t.co/oXI7DYhB73
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) February 4, 2026
Kavanagh Steps In on Short Notice
Lone’er Kavanagh, a 26-year-old Irish fighter, will step up to face Moreno despite being unranked and just three fights into his UFC career. The matchup represents a major opportunity for Kavanagh, who was originally scheduled to fight Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night 269 on March 14 in Las Vegas.
Kavanagh brings a 9-1 professional record into the fight. He earned a first-round knockout victory on Dana White’s Contender Series before winning his first two UFC fights against Jose Ochoa and Felipe dos Santos.
However, Kavanagh is coming off his first career loss, a knockout defeat to Charles Johnson in August 2024. The young prospect now faces a former champion on short notice in front of a hostile crowd in Mexico.
Moreno Looks to Rebound from Recent Loss
The 32-year-old Moreno is ranked No. 5 in the flyweight division and fighting in front of his home country fans. He became the first Mexican fighter to win a UFC championship when he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in June 2021.
Moreno enters this fight looking to bounce back from a December loss to Tatsuro Taira. That TKO defeat marked the first time Moreno had been stopped by strikes in his 23-9-2 career.
Before the loss to Taira, Moreno had won consecutive fights against Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg. He has held the UFC flyweight championship twice during his career and fought Figueiredo four times in total.
The UFC Fight Night 268 card will feature other fights including Marlon Vera vs. David Martinez, Daniel Zellhuber vs. King Green, and Macy Chiasson vs. Ailin Perez. The event takes place at the Mexico City Arena on February 28.
