Monday Morning Hangover: What’s next for Yair Rodriguez, Brandon Moreno after losses at UFC Mexico City?

UFC Mexico City went down this past weekend (Feb. 24, 2024) inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, leaving plenty of fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Cristian Quinonez, who was submitted by Raoni Barcelos in the third and final round (highlights).

And Daniel Lacerda, who lost his fifth fight in last six outings inside the Octagon, putting him at risk of getting cut. But, which fighters are suffering from the worst post-fight hangovers now a few days removed from the show?

Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez (these maniacs, too).

Coming into the event, Moreno was looking to get back on track after losing his Flyweight title to Alexandre Pantoja via split decision. Another win would have likely set him up for a rematch against “The Cannibal,” but instead, he now finds himself in a deeper hole after losing another decision.

Throughout the fight, it seemed as if Moreno simply couldn’t assemble much offense to cause any damage or sway the fight his way. One judge had it 29-26 for “Assassin Baby,” and I just don’t see how. Royval got the better of him and there was no robbery once the final judges scorecards were disclosed.

As far as what’s next for Moreno, perhaps a fight against Henry Cejudo is in order. “Triple C” is kind if in No Man’s Land at the moment after getting manhandled by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, and he was once the champion at 125 pounds. Cejudo recently called out Moreno out for a battle at UFC 306, and since UFC’s initial plans were to stack that card at The Sphere with Mexican stars, Moreno would be a great addition. The two men have a beef dating back years, so why not settle it inside The Sphere?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

As for Rodriguez, he was also trying to keep his name in the championship race after losing to former division champion, Alexander Volkanovski, at UFC 290 (watch highlights). A win over Ortega would have kept him lingering in the Top 3, and get him closer to a much-desired showdown against current 145-pound kingpin, Ilia Topuria.

And while he did have a tremendous first round where he dropped Ortega and busted his nose, the urgency just wasn’t there for Rodriguez in round two. Ortega, meanwhile, put himself into another dimension to control the pace of the fight. After taking down Rodriguez once again in round three, “T-City” let his amazing Brazilian jiu-jitsu skill take over, sinking in an air-tight, arm-triangle choke that had “El Pantera” gasping for air and tapping for dear life (highlights).

The loss will drop Rodriguez a bit further down the 145-pound rankings, which means he will have to string together several impressive wins to get back into the mix. As far as what could realistically be next for the Mexican-born combatant, a fight against Arnold Allen sounds about right.

Allen, like Rodriguez, has also lost two straight after coming up short against Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. Prior to that, Allen was on a 12-fight win streak, winning his first 10 fights under the UFC banner. Allen is currently ranked No. 6, so it’s not too big of a drop in opposition for Rodriguez rankings-wise.

Either way, this will have to wait.

For complete UFC Mexico City results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.