The greatest Mexican fighters in UFC history, as Noche UFC comes home

The greatest Mexican fighters in UFC history do not fit on a short list by accident: they built it one title at a time. With Noche UFC returning on September 12, and Brandon Moreno and Alexa Grasso on the card, it is the right moment to line up the names that turned Mexico from a boxing country into an MMA power, from Cain Velasquez to today’s champions.

Full event coverage: Noche UFC returns to Glendale for Mexican Independence weekend, headliner reshuffled but stars intact

Key takeaways

The greatest Mexican fighters begin with two firsts

Velasquez, then Moreno

Two milestones anchor the whole story. In 2010, Cain Velasquez became the first UFC champion of Mexican heritage, knocking out Brock Lesnar to take the heavyweight belt he would hold twice. Then in 2021, Brandon Moreno went one step further: the fighter from Tijuana submitted Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263 to become the first Mexican-born UFC champion, a distinction that meant everything at home.

The difference between those two firsts is the point. Velasquez proved a fighter of Mexican blood could rule the sport; Moreno proved a fighter raised in Mexico could, on the toughest road there is. Between them they cover a decade of the country climbing from outsider to contender to champion.

Champions across the divisions

Cejudo, Grasso and Yair

The list does not stop at two. Henry Cejudo, an Olympic wrestling gold medalist of Mexican descent, beat Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title, stopped T.J. Dillashaw in 32 seconds and became a two-division champion at bantamweight, one of the most decorated résumés in the sport. Alexa Grasso captured the women’s flyweight belt by beating Valentina Shevchenko and headlines this very Noche card. And Yair Rodríguez, the interim featherweight champion, gave the era its highlight reel with some of the most creative finishes MMA has produced.

Read together, that is a generation with belts in four divisions and stars in several more. It is why Noche UFC exists as a marquee night at all: the depth is real, and it runs from the heavyweights down to the women’s flyweights.

The sport is very young in my country, and it's hard because in Mexico it's soccer and boxing and that's it. If you try to do another kind of sport, the road is very, very tough.
— Brandon Moreno

A young sport, and the next wave

Where the story goes from here

What makes the achievement bigger is the context. Moreno has been open about how hard the road was. “The sport is very young in my country, and it’s hard because in Mexico it’s soccer and boxing and that’s it,” he has said. “If you try to do another kind of sport, the road is very, very tough.” These champions did not inherit a pipeline; they were the pipeline.

Now there is a next wave building behind them, led by teenage phenom Raul Rosas Jr. and bantamweight contender Irene Aldana, with more coming through every Noche card. That is exactly why this weekend matters beyond one event: it is the showcase where the next great Mexican fighter announces themselves.

Follow Mexican MMA with real numbers

The full records of every fighter named here, the current rankings and the complete Noche UFC card are in the FightHub app, updated as the night approaches. Download it to trace the golden generation and spot who is next.