UFC Mexico is upon us. This Saturday night, the UFC’s spring schedule continues with another international Fight Night card before returning home to Nevada the first weekend in April. Arena CDMX serves as the venue for this week’s UFC Mexico.
Live coverage inside the United States can be seen gavel-to-gavel on ESPN+ beginning with the prelims at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT. Main card action caps the evening at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on the Disney-owned subscription-based streaming platform.
If you’re watching the show this weekend by way of traditional television, you can tune into ESPN2 starting at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT. Barring any 11th-hour adjustments between now and the upcoming weekend, the final version of UFC Mexico features 13 fights from the top MMA promotion in the world.
UFC Mexico Main Event: No. 2 Contender Brandon Moreno vs. No. 8 Contender Steve Erceg
At the top of the bill for the main card on Saturday night is the only all-ranked matchup of the evening in your main event. Flyweights take to the famed Octagon in Mexico City for a contest between No. 2 contender Brandon Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) battles No. 8 contender Steve Erceg (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).
This fight is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.
Brandon Moreno, former UFC Flyweight Champion, enters UFC Mexico’s headlining bout this Saturday night having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five bouts. On Nov. 2 of last year, he traveled to Edmonton, AB to meet up with Amir Albazi (17-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC in the UFC Edmonton main event.
That evening, he got his hand raised in victory after 25 minutes by way of unanimous decision in a rebooking of a cancelled fight from the last time that the UFC trekked to Mexico City in February of 2024.
Moreno is a savvy veteran of the cage, one who’s already popped the cork and sipped the champagne after becoming a champion of his weight class. He’s on the doorstep of another bid at gold at 125, so can he put on another great show?
Meanwhile, Steve Erceg comes into the weekend with a mark of 3-2 in his own right, but he’s been a streaky fighter of late. Heading into UFC Mexico on Saturday, he’s come out on the losing end in his last two fights.
Most recently, he was bested by Kai Kara-France (25-11, 1 NC MMA, 8-4 UFC) by first-round knockout due to a right cross followed by ground and pound shots in August during UFC 305 in Perth. The stakes are high for Steve Erceg in the main event of the evening. A victory here could propel him into the top-5 at 125.
UFC Mexico Co-Main Event: Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober
Immediately beforehand, the UFC Mexico co-main event sees action at lightweight when Manuel Torres (15-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) takes on Drew Dober (27-14, 1 NC MMA, 13-10, 1 NC UFC). This is a three-round contest at five minutes per round.
Torres will be making the walk on the strength of a 4-1 record over the course of his last five bouts. Last time out, he saw his six-fight winning streak stopped at the hands of Ignacio Bahamondes (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) due to a first-round knockout (right hand to ground and pound shots) during UFC 306 last September inside the Vegas Sphere.
Bahamondes’ winning streak is still active at this time at three fights. As far as Torres is concerned, the 2021 graduate of Contender Series is a force to be reckoned with once the cage door slams shut on fight night. All of his wins under the UFC promotional banner have been recorded inside the distance, so only time will tell if he’s able to return to the win column on Saturday night.
Across the way, Drew Dober has posted a record of 2-3 in his last five appearances and has lost two contests in a row. Back in July of last year, his fight versus Jean Silva (15-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at Ball Center in Denver was stopped during the third round after it was determined by the fight doctor that he could not proceed due to sustaining a cut above his eye.
Dober hasn’t had a sustained winning streak since a three-fight run in the back-end of 2022. Can he get back in victory lane in UFC Mexico?
UFC Mexico: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
Also on the main card, you’ll see middleweight action matching Kelvin Gastelum (19-9, 1 NC MMA, 13-9, 1 NC UFC) against Joe Pyfer (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Gastelum will touch down in Mexico City with a 2-3 mark in his last five bouts.
Presently, he looks to build off of a unanimous decision victory in Abu Dhabi last June versus Daniel Rodriguez (18-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) on ABC. With a hiatus of nine months, the question of ring rust has come into play here.
What kind of a training camp has he been able to have ahead of this fight?
In the other corner, Joe Pyfer has a 4-1 record in his five most recent contests in MMA. The 2022 Contender Series alumnus scored a first-round knockout last June versus Marc-Andre Barriault (16-9, 1 NC MMA, 5-8, 1 NC UFC) due to an overhand right.
Unlike Gastelum, he’s only had three months between combat sports appearances. Right before the new year, he fought in Fury Pro Grappling, taking a win by decision over Nicholas Willey at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Throughout his UFC career, Joe Pyfer has been known to be a tough customer at the shop. How will he fare this time?
Final Thoughts
Which main card fight or fights are you looking forward to on UFC Mexico? Let us know in the comments.
