Lone'er Kavanagh
England
Taps out to Brandon Royval
Kavanagh lost to Brandon Royval via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:40 of Round 3 at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Fresh off a shocking late-notice win over Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in February, Kavanagh was unable to carry over that momentum here against Royval. Truth be told, he was lucky to work his way back into the fight at all. He had a lousy opening frame before dropping Royval with a huge shot in Round 2. Kavanagh went all out for the finish but was unable to find it. Royval was recovered by the end of the stanza and completely dominated Round 3, controlling Kavanagh at the point of attack before eventually clamping on finishing rear-naked choke. Lone'er just turned 27 years of age about a month ago and he's already proven he can compete with the best flyweights on the roster, but there have been bumps in the road along the way. He's just 1-2 inh is past three fights, with both defeats coming via stoppage.
Fresh off a shocking late-notice win over Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in February, Kavanagh was unable to carry over that momentum here against Royval. Truth be told, he was lucky to work his way back into the fight at all. He had a lousy opening frame before dropping Royval with a huge shot in Round 2. Kavanagh went all out for the finish but was unable to find it. Royval was recovered by the end of the stanza and completely dominated Round 3, controlling Kavanagh at the point of attack before eventually clamping on finishing rear-naked choke. Lone'er just turned 27 years of age about a month ago and he's already proven he can compete with the best flyweights on the roster, but there have been bumps in the road along the way. He's just 1-2 inh is past three fights, with both defeats coming via stoppage.
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Will face Royval
Kavanagh will face Brandon Royval in a flyweight bout at UFC 329 on July 11, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Kavanagh's most recent bout came on Feb. 28, when he secured an unanimous decision win over Brandon Moreno in Mexico City despite being a late addition to the card. Now he'll aim to start a winning streak in what looks like a favorable matchup on paper since Royval has dropped his last two fights while looking overmatched in both of those defeats.
Kavanagh's most recent bout came on Feb. 28, when he secured an unanimous decision win over Brandon Moreno in Mexico City despite being a late addition to the card. Now he'll aim to start a winning streak in what looks like a favorable matchup on paper since Royval has dropped his last two fights while looking overmatched in both of those defeats.
Shines in late-notice main event
Kavanagh defeated Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Mexico City.
ANALYSIS
In the biggest fight of his career to date, Kavanagh shined. He fought a smart game plan, firing off a ton of leg kicks in an attempt to slow Moreno down. It worked. He opened up on the feet in Round 2 with the biggest moments of the fight for either man and remained aggressive on the feet throughout. Defensively, he stuffed all eight of Moreno's takedown attempts. The only real offense he allowed his opponent was seven-plus minutes of boring, ineffective control time along the fence. Kavanagh was scheduled to face Bruno Silva in a couple weeks, so it's not as if he came in cold off the bench here, but he certainly was unaware he was competing in a five-round main event at altitude until earlier this month. It was a brilliant effort given the late-notice call, the opponent, and the fact Kavanagh was coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Charles Johnson last August. The 26-year-old Brit is going to find himself flying up the flyweight rankings when they are updated shortly. In the meantime, he'll walk away with a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
In the biggest fight of his career to date, Kavanagh shined. He fought a smart game plan, firing off a ton of leg kicks in an attempt to slow Moreno down. It worked. He opened up on the feet in Round 2 with the biggest moments of the fight for either man and remained aggressive on the feet throughout. Defensively, he stuffed all eight of Moreno's takedown attempts. The only real offense he allowed his opponent was seven-plus minutes of boring, ineffective control time along the fence. Kavanagh was scheduled to face Bruno Silva in a couple weeks, so it's not as if he came in cold off the bench here, but he certainly was unaware he was competing in a five-round main event at altitude until earlier this month. It was a brilliant effort given the late-notice call, the opponent, and the fact Kavanagh was coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Charles Johnson last August. The 26-year-old Brit is going to find himself flying up the flyweight rankings when they are updated shortly. In the meantime, he'll walk away with a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Main eventing against ex-champion
Kavanagh is scheduled to compete against fellow flyweight Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC Mexico on Feb. 28, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
ANALYSIS
Kavanagh will make an astronomical jump in terms of opponent quality for his next fight. Feb. 28's UFC Mexico event required a new opponent for Moreno after Asu Almabayev withdrew from the event, and the 26-year-old Englishman offered to step in on relatively short notice. Kavanagh will face one of the best in a challenging situation, with the Mexican native Moreno not only a multiple-time UFC Flyweight Champion but also in the top-five of the division's class rankings. On the other hand, the opportunity may have been too good to pass up, especially with a win over Moreno ensuring a massive jump in the rankings for Kavanagh.
Kavanagh will make an astronomical jump in terms of opponent quality for his next fight. Feb. 28's UFC Mexico event required a new opponent for Moreno after Asu Almabayev withdrew from the event, and the 26-year-old Englishman offered to step in on relatively short notice. Kavanagh will face one of the best in a challenging situation, with the Mexican native Moreno not only a multiple-time UFC Flyweight Champion but also in the top-five of the division's class rankings. On the other hand, the opportunity may have been too good to pass up, especially with a win over Moreno ensuring a massive jump in the rankings for Kavanagh.
Out of Silva fight
Kavanagh (undisclosed) will no longer fight Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 114, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
It's unclear why Kavanagh withdrew from the fight, but he will now have to wait for his next opportunity to bounce back from his recent loss to Charles Johnson. Johnson will serve as Kavanagh's replacement against Silva on March 14.
It's unclear why Kavanagh withdrew from the fight, but he will now have to wait for his next opportunity to bounce back from his recent loss to Charles Johnson. Johnson will serve as Kavanagh's replacement against Silva on March 14.
Silva up next
Kavanagh will fight Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 114 on March 14, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
A loss to Charles Johnson in August gave Kavanagh the first blemish on his previously 9-0 professional record. He'll get an opportunity to bounce back against a fighter who is nine years older than him and has lost two of his last three bouts.
A loss to Charles Johnson in August gave Kavanagh the first blemish on his previously 9-0 professional record. He'll get an opportunity to bounce back against a fighter who is nine years older than him and has lost two of his last three bouts.