Lone’er Kavanagh has found himself in a shock UFC main event against Brandon Moreno, as he prepares to fight the former champion on three weeks’ notice.
British prospect Kavanagh will face Moreno in the latter’s home country, as they clash at 125lb in Mexico City on 28 February.
The news comes after Moreno’s original opponent, Asu Almabayev, was forced to withdraw due to injury.
“The situation is like this, we got a hand injury, 2 days before the flight,” the Kazakh, ranked seventh at flyweight, wrote on Instagram. “I have never given up on [a] fight [...] the preparation is at a good level [...] I can't change anything.”
As a result, in steps 26-year-old Kavanagh to face fifth-ranked Moreno.
The new match-up was criticised by many fans, who questioned why Kavanagh, ranked 15th, was chosen – especially given he was knocked out in his last fight. In that contest, against Charles Johnson in August, Kavanagh was stopped in the second round.
However, it is possible that Kavanagh was one of the only ranked flyweights willing to take the fight on short notice. Furthermore, the Londoner’s loss to Johnson was the first of his professional career, following a 9-0 start and a 2-0 UFC run.
“I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THESE,” Kavanagh wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “CHANGE OF PLAN, 28th FEB, GODS PLAN.”
Kavanagh was referencing the fact that he was previously scheduled to fight Bruno Silva in Las Vegas on 14 March.
Meanwhile, Moreno wrote on Instagram: “The mission is still the same.”
The 32-year-old last fought in December, suffering an upset loss to Tatsuro Taira via second-round stoppage. The result marked Moreno’s third loss in his last five fights, but the Mexican has major pedigree as a former two-time champion.
After fighting to a draw with then-champion Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020, Moreno submitted the Brazilian in a 2021 rematch to win the title. Figueiredo then outpointed Moreno in 2022, but the latter won the interim belt later that year, before beating his rival one more time in early 2023.
Moreno’s second reign as champion was short lived, however. He dropped the title to Alexandre Pantoja in July 2023, and Pantoja held the belt until last December, when he lost it to Joshua Van due to an injury inside 30 seconds. That title fight played out just minutes after Taira beat Moreno.
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