Lone’er Kavanagh has experienced some intense on-the-job training in his short time with the UFC.
This Saturday, Kavanagh takes on another top-ranked flyweight contender when he fights the hard-hitting Ramazan Temirov on the main card of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. Since being signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, it’s been anything but an easy path for the 27-year-old Kavanagh, who is coming off of fights against two-time UFC champion Brandon Moreno and longtime contender Brandon Royval.
Kavanagh shook up the rankings with an upset win over Moreno, but then fell via third-round submission to Royval in his most recent outing. Ahead of his fight with Temirov, Kavanagh spoke to MMA Fighting’s José Youngs about what he learned from that loss.
“It’s about decision making,” Kavanagh said. “Making the right decisions at the right point, not rushing. I felt like I rushed a little bit on certain aspects. I made the wrong decisions elsewhere and it’s just learning from those.
“That’s what it is, it’s all XP [experience] at the end of the day and I was in there with someone that has so much XP, I learned a lot from him.”
Kavanagh was previously an undefeated standout in England’s Cage Warriors and made it to the UFC with just seven pro bouts under his belt. After defeating two unranked opponents to start his octagon run, he was immediately thrown to the wolves against Royval, Moreno, and Charles Johnson, going 1-2 against the trio.
Still, Kavanagh has shown plenty of flashes of being a mainstay at the top of the division, and Royval praised him as a future champion following their fight.
“A hundred percent I understand where he’s coming from,” Kavanagh said, when asked how he reacted to Royval’s comment despite the tough loss. “Brandon’s a nice guy. I do appreciate him saying that, but at the same time it didn’t go my way, so I focus on those things.”
The immediate task at hand for Kavanagh is his duel with Temirov, 3-0 in the UFC so far and coming off of a spectacular knockout of one-time title challenger Steve Erceg. He also holds a win over Johnson, who defeated Kavanagh in 2025.
There’s plenty on the line for both fighters and Kavanagh looks forward to seeing how their styles matchup in the cage.
“You can definitely see he’s got dynamite in his hands,” Kavanagh said. “Likes to come forward and throw big shots, looping shots. But I think that’s what makes it so exciting, I feel like that’s what makes this fight so exciting. Power vs. speed almost kind of thing. I like to think I’ve got power in my hands as well, so it will be a good fight to watch.”
