Daniel Cunningham
This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Mexico, we saw a very intriguing matchup in the flyweight division. Former champion Brandon Moreno (23-10-1) was looking to get back on track as he took on unranked prospect Lone’er Kavanagh (10-1).
Originally, Moreno was supposed to take on Asu Almabayev but after an injury, Kavanagh stepped in on just a few weeks’ notice. Kavanagh has a ton of talent and his striking is sensational. Because of his speed and power, I expected him to have some success early against the former champion.
That said, I expected him to fade as the fight went on and Moreno to take over. That never happened on Saturday night. The fight was more competitive in the final three rounds, but largely, this fight was all about Lone’er Kavanagh. He hurt Moreno badly in the second round and had him on skates.
The fight never felt that close and in the end, Lone’er Kavanagh won a very lopsided decision at UFC Mexico.
What’s next after UFC Mexico?
Just a few months ago, Lone’er Kavanagh got knocked out cold by Charles Johnson who is currently ranked 13th in the flyweight division. He hasn’t fought since but he jumped at this opportunity to fight Brandon Moreno and now that he won in this fashion, he’s immediately going to jump into the flyweight top ten.
With this big of a win, you’re likely going to see him face someone in the top ten next and I think someone to look at would be former title challenger Brandon Royval. Royval is still at the very top of the division despite back-to-back losses. I think that would be a great next step for Kavanagh and I expect the UFC to look into that matchup.
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