Lone’er Kavanagh stepped into enemy territory and walked out with the biggest win of his career after beating Brandon Moreno in the UFC Mexico main event.
Despite short notice and taking on a two-time former flyweight champion, Kavanagh showed real composure and a rock solid game plan as he took away Moreno’s foundation with a blistering series of leg kicks that did maximum damage. Kavanagh also went up top with effective combinations that left Moreno bloodied and battered by the time 25 minutes expired.
In the end, the judges scored the fight 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 with Kavanagh getting the unanimous decision win and the upset to beat Moreno at home.
“This moment, I said before this fight, I live for legendary moments,” Kavanagh said after the win. “This is a legendary moment. Brandon is a legend. Two-time world champ. I’m a big fan. I watched him when I was a kid. To get to fight him is amazing.”
From the jump, Moreno was looking for big, heavy shots that could help him get the knockout while Kavanagh concentrated on slowing him down with a series of leg kicks. Kavanagh wasn’t backing down from the challenge as he continued to toss out a good lead jab while doing his best to stay out of any of the power punches coming back at him from Moreno.
Kavanagh continued digging to that lead leg with kicks and Moreno was still swinging wild, unable to really find a home for his biggest punches. A counter left hand from Kavanagh was also finding a home along with a lightning quick front kick that went right up the middle and caught Moreno’s attention.
With two minutes left in the second round, Kavanagh cracked Moreno with a stiff punch and the former flyweight champion was immediately on rubber legs. Kavanagh continued to apply pressure while battering Moreno with punches and chipping away with those leg kicks but not overexerting himself going for the kill.
Bloodied and rattled, Moreno was eventually able to settle himself, recovery and reset to survive the round but Kavanagh’s confidence was understandably surging.
Realizing he was down on the scorecards, Moreno came out firing in the third round and he connected with several stinging shots with Kavanagh’s accuracy suddenly suffering. Moreno kept marching forward and that cut down on Kavanagh’s leg kicks, although he didn’t fade from the pressure but the former champion was gaining ground on him.
While Moreno’s wrestling wasn’t leading to takedowns, he was pressing Kavanagh against the cage where he started unloading a series of knees. Moreno wasn’t doing much damage but he was obviously slowing Kavanagh down and maintaining control in the fight.
When Kavanagh finally broke free, he unloaded a pair of thudding leg kicks that left Moreno limping as the damage on his calf was really started to affect him. Moreno looked for another takedown but Kavanagh resisted as he circled away and threw out another solid combination.
With blood dripping from his mouth and time running out, Moreno was resigned to pushing Kavanagh against the cage, maintaining control and throwing knees but he just wasn’t producing much offense. In return, Kavanagh was still hammering away with leg kicks and playing effective defense until the final horn sounded.
It was an incredibly mature performance from Kavanagh, especially considering the timing and circumstances surrounding this fight. He never backed down and dished out a lot of punishment as Moreno looked like just went through a five-round war when it was over and Kavanagh appeared almost unharmed after it was over.
The win undoubtedly shakes up the UFC flyweight division with Kavanagh taking a huge step forward while Moreno drops his second straight fight and falls to 2-4 in his past six outings.
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