Brandon Moreno was born in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo: Instagram/UFC.
There are less than two days left until the UFC lands in Mexico. The event, which will feature as its main fight a duel between the flyweights (up to 56,7 kg.) Brandon Moreno e Steve Erceg, takes place this Saturday (29) at the Arena CDMX, in Mexico City.
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There are few fighters from Mexico who have won gold in the UFC. Moreno was the first fighter born in the Central American country to take home a title, and he wasn't the last. Two years after he won the flyweight belt over the Brazilian Deiveson Figueiredo, more champions were crowned. In 2023, Mexico had three UFC champions.
Do you have a bad memory? SUPER FIGHTS brings you the five best Mexican UFC fighters of all time.
5) Yair Rodriguez
Yair Rodriguez won the interim featherweight belt in UFC 284. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Fighting Chihuahua in Mexico, Yair Rodriguez was one win away from becoming the undisputed champion. The winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter Latin America' began his UFC career with a record of eight wins and one no contest before failing to win Max Holloway in a competitive struggle.
Rodriguez eventually bounced back with two knockout wins over Brian ortega e Josh Emmett, winning the interim featherweight title (up to 65,7 kg) on the same night that the then champion Alexander Volkanovsky unsuccessfully challenged Islam Mahachev for the lightweight title (up to 70,3 kg).
Rodriguez, who stands at 1,80 feet tall, was a big test for Volkanovski, but in the third round the striker was taken down and finished with punches to the UFC 276.
Rodriguez has wins over Brian ortega, Josh Emmett, The Korean Zombie, Dan Hooker e B.J. Penn. 'El Pantera' has nine performance bonuses in his 10 wins – tied with Brandon Moreno in most wins as a Mexican-born fighter.
4) Alexa Grasso
Alexa grasso is the first and only female fighter to defeat Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC women's flyweight division. Beating the current champion is hard enough, just ask the former two-division champion Amanda nunes, who went all the way with 'Bullet' both times. But Alexa grasso achieved the seemingly impossible in UFC 285 when she came face to face with the Kyrgyz fighter and current pound-for-pound queen.
In round 4 of the title fight, Grasso grabbed Shevchenko's back after she spun. She locked in a rear naked choke, squeezing as hard as she could until Shevchenko tapped.
Grasso raised his hand in the rematch, however, it was not a victory, but a split draw in a fight at the 'Night UFC'. Shevchenko left no doubt in the trilogy, knocking out Grasso in the UFC 306 in September last year.
3) Brandon Moreno
Spoke it into existence
The former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns to the Octagon at #UFCMexico! pic.twitter.com/cyR35gOMsD
- UFC (@ufc) March 27, 2025
You might be a little surprised that Brandon Moreno may not be number one on the list, considering he is 'The Mexican Star' in MMA. But at 31 years old and with no successful title defenses, he still has work to do.
However, no one denies that Moreno had an incredible career in the UFC. 'The Assassin Baby' won Deiveson Figueiredo e Kai Kara France (both twice), along with major competitors amir albazi, Brandon royval e Jussier formiga.
With a victory over Steve Erceg this weekend in the main fight of the UFC Mexico, the fighter from Tijuana would go down in history as the Mexican UFC athlete with the most wins (11).
Moreno has three losses (including exhibition) to the defending champion Alexandre pantoja, hoping one day to become a three-time champion for Mexico.
2) Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo is a former UFC double champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Henry Cejudo isn't exactly someone who represents the Mexican flag, having represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics, but perhaps the former champion's legacy shows in the way he fights. A TKO loss to Demetrious Johnson in his first title fight in 2015 didn't stop Cejudo from chasing UFC gold, it just made him hungrier.
Cejudo returned with a vengeance in 2017, going on a six-fight streak in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions. The former champion dethroned one of the greatest fighters of all time, Demetrious Johnson, in 2018, and then defended the title against TJ Dillashaw in 32 seconds.
At bantamweight, Cejudo persevered in his fight against a dangerous Marlon moraes, overcoming early adversity to become a simultaneous two-division champion. Covered in blood, Cejudo retired on top after knocking out Dominick Cruz in 2020.
Cejudo challenged himself against the then champion aljamain sterling, the current champion Merab Dvalishvili and the main challenger song yadong on his not-so-successful return after a three-year hiatus.
1) Cain Velasquez
Cain Velazquez made history in the UFC (Photo: Facebook Reproduction Cain Velazquez)
In the 2010s, the most evil man on the planet had Mexican roots. Cain Velazquez represents his 'Brown Pride' with a tattoo on his chest, displaying the 'Mexican heart' in the octagon.
Fighter from San Jose, California, Cain Velazquez defeated a number of tough heavyweight opponents (up to 120,2 lbs.) in his prime. Velasquez's accomplishments include defeating a Brock Lesnar of 120,2 kg in the first round, repeated victories over Junior Gypsy and Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva.
Velasquez still holds the longest reign of all time for the heavyweight title at 896 days – something worth noting for Jon Jones, which could end up breaking the record.
Velasquez had a record of 12 wins and three losses in the UFC and his final fight was against the powerful Francis Ngannou, in 2019. Win, lose or draw, few fighters embody the Mexican fighting spirit like Cain Velazquez.
Recently, Velasquez was convicted to five years in prison for the 2022 shooting, when he attempted to take the life of a man who allegedly committed child sexual abuse against his son.
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