With the current season of Dana White’s Contender Series in full swing and the UFC calendar providing a long, hot summer of MMA action, it should raise no eyebrows to see another CW alumni lacing them up for the world leader. This weekend it’s the turn of Lone’er Kavanagh, the striking supremo who punched his ticket to the big time with a series of show-stealing performances in the Famous Yellow Gloves.
UK fans will be delighted to watch Kavanagh’s latest UFC outing early on Saturday morning due to the time difference with Shanghai, with the GB Top Team man set to take to the cage before midday.
The 26 year old, who reps British, Irish and Chinese heritage became an instant fan favourite on Cage Warriors after scoring one of the all time smoothest KO combination’s in the promotion’s history on his debut against Ryan Morgan.
The pair had traded shots to the delight of the watching crowd all the way into the third round of their contest, but it was just over a minute into that final frame when the real magic happened. Kavanagh slipped back to avoid Morgan’s left hook, and in one fluid motion snapped off a beautiful two-piece that cut his man’s strings and sent him crashing into the canvas.
The win laid the foundations for a thrilling four fight run in the Famous Yellow Gloves. A hard fought points victory over fellow undefeated prospect Ander Sanchez came next, followed by another stunning third round KO – this time by way of wheel kick – against 4-0 prospect Davide Scarano that had people talking about Kavanagh as a serious threat.
His final performance under the CW banner came against another hyped prospect – Shawn Da Silva – at CW 169. It would be yet another clash of undefeated opponents (as all four of Kavanagh’s CW bouts were), with fans all but certain that the winner would be in line for an important phone call.
The pair went tit-for-tat for the duration of the three-rounder, with the UK-based fighter edging his Germany-based Brazilian counterpart on the scorecards.
The fans were right; the performance saw Kavanagh called up the Contender Series, where he was awarded a UFC contract following a jarring knockout victory over An Tuan Ho.
On Saturday morning, he looks to make it 3-0 in the UFC as he takes on Charles Johnson, and 11-fight UFC veteran victorious in four of his last five, including a huge KO of top ranked flyweight contender Joshua Van.
Fans in the UK can catch all the action from UFC Shanghai on TNT Sport. Cage Warriors returns with CW 193 at Newcastle’s Vertu Arena, on Saturday, September 13th, where the hunt for the next UFC superstar continues!