Lone’er Kavanagh earned the biggest win of his career on
Saturday in Mexico City. | Getty/UFC
Lone’er
Kavanagh was originally supposed to face Bruno Silva
on March 14, but when the
UFC came calling to offer a former champion in hostile
territory on short notice, the British prospect didn’t
hesitate.
The gamble paid off, as Kavanagh took a five-round verdict over
Brandon
Moreno in the
UFC Mexico headliner at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday
night. In victory, Kavanagh was able to rebound from a knockout
loss to Charles
Johnson in his last outing at UFC Shanghai this past
August.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to say f—k the fear and do it,” Kavanagh
said told the UFC. “Believe in yourself, believe in the people
behind you and let the rest write itself.”
Kavanagh outworked Moreno on the feet behind his jab and impactful
low kicks, and he stuffed all eight of his opponent’s takedown
attempts over the course of the 25-minute affair. Still, it was a
closely contested fight, and Moreno did his best to slow his
younger opponent down with plenty of control time against the
fence.
“With Brandon you have to stay switched on the whole time,”
Kavanagh said. “He’s dangerous. He’s a tough person… I had to stay
switched on the whole fight — even towards the end, I had to double
check. I’m very critical about myself. We got the win, and I’m very
grateful.”
At one point in Round 2, the Great Britain Top Team product had
Moreno reeling, and it appeard the end might be near for “Assassin
Baby.” Moreno was able to weather the storm and make Kavanagh work
for the entire five rounds.
Looking to Finish
“I wanted the finish. I’m always looking for a finish,” Kavanagh
said. “At the same time, it’s Brandon Moreno, who’s very tough and
it’s a five-round fight.”
Kavanagh credited his team for putting together a game plan to
defeat Moreno on short notice.
“We had an opponent [before Moreno] but we had to adjust to a
two-time champion in three weeks and we did it,” Kavanagh said. “I
just do what they say.”
While Kavanagh may have lost some luster following his loss to
Johnson last year, he has now emerged as a new contender at 125
pounds following his successful venture to Mexico City. That makes
the lofty goal he set for himself at least a little more
attainable.
“I want to become champ within the first two years of being in the
UFC, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get there,”
Kavanagh said.
Kavanagh debuted in the Las Vegas-based promotion in November 2024
and has been victorious in three of his four Octagon appearances
thus far.
“Believe in yourself, believe in the people
behind you, and let the rest write itself”Lone’er Kavanagh talks his massive short-notice upset win over
Brandon
Moreno at
#UFCMexico#UFCMexico
Final Results ➡️ pic.twitter.com/sLiulLRCje— UFC News (@UFCNews)
March 1, 2026