This weekend (Sat., Feb. 28, 2026), UFC will return to the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico for UFC Mexico City, a “Fight Night” event headlined by former Flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and rising prospect Lone’er Kavanagh.
Unfortunately, it’s an unusual time to travel to Mexico. On Sunday, drug cartel leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera — AKA “El Mencho” — and six other members of the cartel were killed in a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Mexico. There has been immediate violence and continuing unrest in the aftermath, including armed cartel members blocking roads and torching cars. In addition, popular tourism center Puerto Vallarta has seen surprising violence and stranded foreign travelers as travel has been disrupted.
Fortunately, Mexico City is several hundred miles removed from the Jalisco and Puerto Vallarta regions. Still, UFC issued a travel-related memo this week that confirms the promotion is currently monitoring the situation for potential violence in Mexico City (h/t MMA Junkie). The memo explains that athletes and their teams have been assured of their safety, as the promotion is improving its security and securing additional police presence. While working with local law enforcement, the UFC generally plans to follow a “business as usual” approach that is currently recommended by the U.S. Embassy.
Interestingly, many UFC fighters and their teams may already be in Mexico City ahead of Fight Week, as its high elevation requires a considerable amount of time to acclimate. The Mexican UFC Performance Institute is also located in the city and likely to host many of the event’s athletes, though it did suffer serious fire damage back in June.
