UFC Fight Night 237

''UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 237'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 95'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 24, 2024, at Arena CDMX, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Background

The event marked the promotion's sixth visit to Mexico City and first since UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens in September 2019.

A flyweight bout between former two-time UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi was originally expected to serve as a five-round co-main event, but was elevated as the event's headliner. However, Albazi withdrew due to a neck injury and was replaced by former title challenger (also former LFA Flyweight Champion) Brandon Royval. The pair previously met at UFC 255 in November 2020 which Moreno won by first round TKO. Moreno and Albazi were later scheduled to meet in November 2024 at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi.

A featherweight rematch between former interim UFC Featherweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner) Yair Rodríguez and former title challenger Brian Ortega took place in the co-main event, which marked the sixth time a non-main event and non-title bout has been scheduled for five rounds. The pairing previously met at UFC on ABC: Ortega vs. Rodríguez which Rodríguez won by first round TKO due to a shoulder injury.

A flyweight rematch between Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda took place the event. The pair had previously fought at UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 in September 2023, where the bout was ruled a no-contest due to premature referee stoppage. They were booked again for UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza two months later, but the bout was cancelled due to Lacerda suffering medical issues after the weigh-in. At the weigh ins, both fighters missed weight. Chairez weighed in at 131 pounds and Lacerda at 127 pounds, five pounds and one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit, respectively. Their bout proceeded at catchweight with both fighters fined a percentage of their purse.

A bantamweight bout between Raul Rosas Jr. and The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight winner Ricky Turcios was expected to take place at the event. However, Rosas Jr. was forced withdraw just before the bout was expected to begin due to an illness. As a result, the bout was initially pushed back one week to UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev before it was ultimately cancelled by the promotion.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado
*Performance of the Night: Brian Ortega and Manuel Torres

See also

*2024 in UFC
*List of current UFC fighters
*List of UFC events

References

{{2024 in mixed martial arts

2024 in UFC
UFC Fight Night
2024 in Mexican sports
February 2024 sports events in Mexico
Mixed martial arts in Mexico
Sports competitions in Mexico City
2020s in Mexico City