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UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 Preview
On Saturday, February 24th, the UFC will return to Mexico City for the first time in over four years. At Arena CDMX at 7 PM, the Mexican crowd will have a chance to back many of their hometown fighters. It is sure to be an electric night!
Let’s take a look at the card for UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2:
Main Card - 10 PM on ESPN+
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2
Yair Rodríguez vs. Brian Ortega
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan
Preliminary Card - 7 PM on ESPN+
Cristian Quinonez vs. Raoni Barcelos
Jesus Santos Aguilar vs. Mateus Mendonca
Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam
Luis Rodriguez vs. Denys Bondar
Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe dos Santos
Erik Silva vs. Muhammad Naimov
Here are a couple things to consider:
On paper, the PFL card that takes place earlier in the day has more well-known names in the world of MMA. However, do NOT sleep on this card. Every fight, except for two, has a Mexican fighter in it. Therefore, the crowd will be going crazy all night. I have goosebumps already!
The Preliminary Card is filled with fighters who will basically just be going out to try and make more of a name for themselves. I have no breakdowns on the fights - I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the fighters going at it. I’m sure there will be a few who impress and become someone to keep an eye on for future fights.
As for the Main Card…
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2
Moreno was originally going to face Amir Albazi on this card, but we are getting a rematch between Moreno and Royval instead. Their first fight had a bit of controversy at the end. Moreno earned a TKO of Royval, but Royval felt it was an early stoppage. Moreno doesn’t disagree, but will be looking to make things much more definitive on Saturday. This has the makings to be a back and forth dog fight with the winner being able to throw their names in the contender ring again.
Yair Rodríguez vs. Brian Ortega
Rodriguez is looking to get back on track after losing his Featherweight Championship fight last year. Brian Ortega will not make it easy, though. He is looking for redemption, as his last fight ended in a TKO due to a dislocated shoulder. His opponent in that fight? Yair Rodriguez. The hope is that this fight does not have an injury factored in and we get a clear winner who can not only get back on track, but throw his name back into contender status.
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
Zellhuber is 24. Prado is 21. They have 28 fights between them and only two losses total. Someone is going to get a second loss on their record here…and they won’t allow it to happen easily. Both of these guys are major prospects in the Lightweight Division. Win or loss, both of these guys have a bright future. However, a win, obviously, will help when it comes to climbing the rankings. This is one to watch!
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Speaking of prospects, Raul Rosas Jr.! Man, I cannot believe he is 19. The fact that both Rosas and Prado (at 21) are in the UFC, fighting on a Main Card amazes me. They are already at a super high level at such a young age. Rosas has the UFC team behind him, as they are clearly excited to have him on the roster after his impressive Contender Series win. He did have a little hiccup of a loss last April, but got back on track in September. Now, it’s time for him to string some wins together and start climbing the rankings to stardom.
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes/Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan
Jauregui and Torres will have the crowd behind them. While I’m going to assume most of the crowd will be hot for the prelims, as well, these two fights will be kicking off the Main Card and things will truly be electric by then. Hughes and Duncan will try to play spoiler, but it will be a tough battle.
For fun, here are my picks:
Main Card - 10 PM on ESPN+
Brandon Moreno
Yair Rodríguez
Daniel Zellhuber
Raul Rosas Jr.
Yazmin Jauregui
Chris Duncan
Preliminary Card - 7 PM on ESPN+
Raoni Barcelos
Jesus Santos Aguilar
Edgar Chairez
Fares Ziam
Luis Rodriguez
Felipe dos Santos
Muhammad Naimov
This show will cap off a very busy day for fight fans with the PFL show earlier in the day. Both shows look like fun for different reasons, so I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think of the show at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com.
