Asu Almabayev out of UFC Mexico headliner after suffering hand injury
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Brandon Moreno vs. Asu Almabayev isn't happening in Mexico City after all.
The UFC Fight Night 268 main event has fallen apart after Almabayev (23-3 MMA,6-1 UFC) was forced out of the flyweight bout scheduled for Feb. 28 at Arena CDMX. News of the withdrawal was first reported by Ag.Fight and later confirmed Tuesday by Almabayev, who revealed on Instagram that he suffered a hand injury.
Almabayev's post included a photo of himself with his right hand in a cast.
Almabayev, No. 7 in the official UFC rankings at 125 pounds, was hoping to keep his momentum against former champion Moreno (23-9-2 MMA, 11-6-2 UFC) in search of his third consecutive win. Almabayev started 2025 with a loss to Manel Kape but rebounded with back-to-back wins over Jose Ochoa and former title challenger Alex Perez.
As of this writing, it's unclear what happens with Moreno, who is looking to rebound from a TKO loss to Tatsuro Taira this past December.
Below is the updated UFC Fight Night 268 card:
- Brandon Moreno vs. opponent TBA
- Macy Chiasson vs. Ailin Perez
- Damian Pinas vs. Wesley Schultz
- Ryan Gandra vs. Jose Medina
- Felipe Bunes vs. Edgar Chairez
- Kevin Borjas vs. Imanol Rodriguez
- David Martinez vs. Marlon Vera
- Francis Marshall vs. Erik Silva
- Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco
- Kris Moutinho vs. Cristian Quinonez
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Sofia Montenegro
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC left scrambling on upcoming main event after fighter pulls out
