Kavanagh upsets Moreno in UFC Mexico main event

The UFC flyweight division has a new contender.

Lone’er Kavanagh earned the biggest win of his career Saturday, defeating former champion Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in the UFC Fight Night main event at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.

Kavanagh, a 26-year-old from London, England, was unranked heading into the fight, but will skyrocket into the top 10 after beating Moreno, who was ranked No. 6 coming in.

“I said before the fight: I live for legendary moments, and this is a legendary moment,” Kavanagh said in his postfight interview. “Brandon is a legend. Two-time world champ. And I’m a big fan. I watched him when I was a kid, and to get to fight him is amazing.”

Kavanagh stepped in on less than four weeks’ notice after Asu Almabayev withdrew from the UFC Mexico main event due to an injury.

Kavanagh used crisp striking, speed, and power to batter Moreno on the feet throughout the fight. He outlanded his opponent 97-79 in significant strikes and stuffed all eight of Moreno’s takedown attempts.

With the victory, Kavanagh improved to 3-1 in the promotion. He was coming off a knockout loss to Charles Johnson at UFC Shanghai last August.

Moreno suffered his second straight defeat. The 32-year-old Tijuana native also lost to Tatsuro Taira via second-round TKO at UFC 323 in December. Moreno is 2-3 in his last five Octagon appearances.

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