By Samuel Faris-Clark
Lone’er Kavanagh produced the biggest win of his career by defeating two-time former champion Brandon Moreno in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event.
The Englishman was a late replacement who stepped in on three weeks’ notice, he secured a unanimous decision victory in Mexico City. Judges scored the five-round flyweight contest 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.
Kavanagh took the fight after Moreno’s original opponent, Asu Almabayev, withdrew through injury.
Late call, career defining opportunity
The 26-year-old was initially scheduled to fight at UFC London on March 20 but accepted the opportunity with “no hesitation.”
He entered the contest as a 17/10 underdog and was coming off the first defeat of his professional career, a knockout loss to Charles Johnson in August.
The Londoner dictated range from the opening round, targeting Moreno’s lead leg with vicious kicks that left the Mexican limping badly from the second round onwards.
He opened a cut over Moreno’s left eye and hurt the former champion multiple times on the feet.
A counter left hand from Kavanagh in the second round left Moreno on rubber legs, but the Brit showed maturity by not overexerting himself going for the finish.
Moreno, 32, turned to a grappling-heavy approach but failed to secure any of his eight takedown attempts.
Moreno required precautionary hospital visits after the fight due to the damage sustained, though no serious injuries were confirmed.
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Bonus secured as momentum shifts
“This is a legendary moment,” Kavanagh said afterwards. “Brandon is a legend, two-time champion. I’m a big fan. I watched him as a kid”.
The victory earned Kavanagh a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus as he improved to 3-1 in the UFC.
Moreno falls to 0-2 in his last two appearances and has lost four of his past six outings.
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