Brandon Moreno looks for first UFC win at home in Mexico; Steve Erceg hungry

The UFC is back in Mexico City this week for the first time in a year with one of the country’s most popular athletes headlining a Fight Night card scheduled for Saturday at Arena CDMX.

Former two-time UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno is on a mission to get his title back, but to do so, he’ll have to take out recent title contender Steve Erceg.

Moreno, 31, began his 2024 campaign with a narrow five-round split decision loss to Brandon Royval in their Fight Night main event 13 months ago at the same venue he will compete inside this weekend.

In fact, the 31-year-old’s two most recent losses both were via split decision. Moreno’s second title reign at 125 pounds ended in the summer of 2023 when he lost his belt via split decision to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290.

Moreno has since gotten back into the win column and is coming off a five-round unanimous decision over Amir Albazi in November.

Saturday will be the fourth time Moreno has fought in Mexico under the UFC banner. He is currently 0-2-1 when competing at UFC events located in his home country.

This will be the Mexican capital’s seventh time hosting a UFC event since debuting there in 2014.

In the opposite corner, Moreno’s opponent will be motivated and looking to snap a two-fight skid of his own.

Erceg burst onto the UFC scene in mid-2023, and by early 2024, he was 3-0 in the organization. The combination of a trio of impressive wins, including a highlight knockout of Matt Schnell, plus some fortunate timing and circumstances within the 125-pound division resulted in the Aussie getting a title shot in just his fourth UFC appearance.

The Perth native gave the reigning champion a run for his money over 25 minutes in the UFC 301 main event last May in Brazil. Two of three judges had that championship bout tied at two rounds apiece heading into the fifth and final round, during which Erceg made a strategic error and initiated a grappling exchange with Pantoja, who used it as an opportunity to take control positionally and win the remainder of the round and therefore the fight.

Erceg, 29, followed up his title shot by getting finished by Kai Kara-France 3 1/2 months later in the opening round of the UFC 305 co-main event last August in his hometown.

“Astro Boy” will look to avoid a third consecutive loss and is hoping to get right back into the title picture with a win over a respected and popular former champ like Moreno, who’ll have the support of the Mexican crowd.

This will mark Erceg’s sixth UFC bout and second main event. It will be the fifth different country and sixth different city in which Erceg has fought during his brief UFC tenure.

UNDERCARD OVERVIEW

Fighters of all ages: A wide array of athletes will be competing at the event, including both the organization’s youngest and oldest fighters currently on the UFC roster. Vinc Pichel, 42, is facing 30-year-old Rafa Garcia in a lightweight bout on the preliminary card, while Raul Rosas Jr., who only turned 20 this past October, meets Vince Morales, 34, in a featured main-card bantamweight matchup.

Pichel, who has lost two in a row and last won a fight in 2021, got his start in the UFC following a 2012 appearance on The Ultimate Fighter reality competition. Rosas has said his goal is to beat Jon Jones’s record for being the youngest champion in UFC history. He initially earned his UFC contract at age 17 with a 2022 win on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Under-the-radar prelim bout: While Rosas is once again getting the main card treatment, the only fighter to beat him so far as a pro, Christian Rodriguez, is also featured at UFC Mexico City, only he was booked in a preliminary contest versus streaking Brazilian Melquizael Costa. Stylistically, this featherweight tilt is one of the better matchups on this card. Rodriguez is coming off a solid win over the previously unbeaten Austin Bashi in January, while Costa has won three of four including two consecutive submissions.

Gastelum’s final go? Kevlin Gastelum has a tough assignment in the form of Joe Pyfer this weekend and if he doesn’t get his hand raised as a substantial underdog, then questions about his future could begin to arise. Although he’s only 33, the TUF 17 winner and one-time middleweight title challenger is 3-6 in his past nine outings and hasn’t won consecutive bouts in seven years. Gastelum is coming off a decision win over Daniel Rodriguez last summer, but Pyfer should represent a tougher challenge even though the knockout artist isn’t currently ranked in the top 15 at 185 pounds.

Below is the projected bout order for UFC Mexico City:

MAIN CARD

— Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg

— Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober

— Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer

— Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Vince Morales

— David Martinez vs. Saimon Oliveira

— Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Kevin Borjas

PRELIMINARY CARD

— Edgar Chairez vs. C.J. Vergara

— Jose Medina vs. Ateba Gautier           

— Christian Rodriguez vs. Melquizael Costa

— Loopy Godinez vs. Julia Polastri

— Rafa Garcia vs. Vinc Pichel

— Jamall Emmers vs. Gabriel Miranda

— Austin Hubbard vs. MarQuel Mederos

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