UFC Mexico is on the horizon. While the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will be down to eight programs from its original 68-team field by Saturday night, not everybody in the world will be watching a college basketball game.
For the first time in over a year, the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world will touch down in Ciudad de Mexico for this week’s edition of UFC Fight Night, the second card of the spring in the UFC. Arena CDMX serves as the setting for the Saturday night card.
Mexico City – WE ARE HERE
@TheAssassinBaby vs Steve Erceg
[ #UFCMexico | SAT | LIVE on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET ] pic.twitter.com/IyXND5ptc5
— UFC (@ufc) March 24, 2025
Live coverage of UFC Mexico begins Saturday afternoon at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT with the undercard. Main card fights follow at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT. As is customary for United States viewers, this show will be streamed over ESPN+ in addition to being aired linearly via ESPN2.
All told, if there are no adjustments needed to be made to this weekend’s schedule of fights, the final version of UFC Mexico will feature a total of 13 fights. Our focus on this day will be the prelims.
UFC Mexico Featured Prelim: Edgar Chairez vs. CJ Vergara
Flyweights take to the famed Octagon during the UFC Mexico featured prelim on Saturday night when Edgar Chairez (11-6, 1 NC MMA, 1-2, 1 NC UFC) battles CJ Vergara (12-6-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC.)
Chairez, an alumnus of Texas’ Fury FC enters the featured prelim on Saturday having posted a record of 2-2 with one no-contest in his last five fights. At the tail-end of last summer, he traveled to the Vegas Sphere for UFC 306.
That night, he dropped a unanimous decision after three rounds to Joshua Van (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), himself an alumnus of Fury FC. Chairez has had a rough go of things since joining the UFC’s active roster in July of 2023.
This is his fifth walk to the famed Octagon and he’s only gotten his hand raised in victory once. His fight in September of 2023 versus Daniel Lacerda was controversially ruled a no-contest after being halted in the opening round upon instant replay confirming that referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight too quickly while Chairez was attempting to submit Lacerda.
Meanwhile, CJ Vergara will make the trek to Mexico City sporting a mark of 2-3 in his last five fights. Presently, he’s dropped two fights in succession.
Most recently, he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout by way of punches against Ramazan Temirov (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) last October at the UFC Apex facility. Another defeat here in UFC Mexico would mark three in a row and five under the UFC banner. Can he score a much-needed victory on Saturday night?
UFC Mexico Co-Featured Prelim: Jose Daniel Medina vs. Ateba Gautier
Immediately prior, the co-featured prelim sees middleweights take to the cage when Jose Daniel Medina (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) meets up with Ateba Gautier (6-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut). Medina comes into UFC Mexico with a mark of 3-2 in his last five contests.
He’s been a streaky fighter of late, having lost two fights consecutively ahead of Saturday night. Medina will be aiming for a better performance than he had in his UFC debut last August.
During the Aug. 24 show at the UFC Apex, he dropped a unanimous decision after three rounds at the hands of Zach Reese (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC.) While Medina’s UFC career is in its early days, he cannot afford to get behind the 8-ball in only his second fight in the promotion. His opponent on the other side of the cage is a tough customer at the shop.
Ateba Gautier will be making the walk for his maiden voyage in the UFC with a 5-0 record in his last five fights. Last September, he scored his UFC contract thanks to a second-round knockout (left hook followed by ground and pound) over Yura Naito (6-1 MMA) on Contender Series.
Gautier comes into this, his UFC debut, on a hot streak. All of his wins have been recorded by stoppage up to now, so will he be able to keep up his great run of form?
UFC Mexico: Christian Rodriguez vs. Melquizael Costa
Also on the UFC Mexico prelims, you’ll be seeing a featherweight contest pairing Christian Rodriguez (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) against Melquizael Costa (22-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) against one another. A universal plotline in this undercard affair is that both fighters have quick turnarounds going into the weekend.
Christian Rodriguez has gone 4-1 in his last five appearances. On Jan. 11, he scored a unanimous decision victory over the previously-undefeated Austin Bashi (13-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the latter’s UFC debut. This is a young man who’s had a decent run of success of late inside the cage.
Prior to sustaining a first-round submission defeat by way of guillotine choke to Julian Erosa in July of last year, he was on a four-fight winning streak dating back to October of 2022. Will he stay in the win column this weekend?
In the other corner, Melquizael Costa will be making the walk to the Octagon for the second time in five weeks during UFC Mexico on Saturday. On Feb. 22, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, he submitted Andre Fili (24-12, 1 NC MMA, 12-11, 1 NC UFC) with a guillotine choke inside the opening round.
By the time Saturday evening rolls around, just 35 days will have passed between contests. Is that short hiatus going to be helpful?
Final Thoughts
Which prelim or prelims are you looking forward to at UFC Mexico? Let us know in the comments.
