Brandon Moreno and Lone’er Kavanagh meet on Saturday night but their paths have come together once before.
Kavanagh stepped in as a substitute opponent to face Moreno following Asu Almabayev’s withdrawal from February 28.
This big opportunity for the flyweight prospect comes with an enormous step up in competition, in addition to the challenge of coping with Mexico City’s elevation on short notice.
Kavanagh might not be ranked in the highest 15 but he’s had a rapid rise in the game, as a social media post that caught his next opponent’s attention shows.
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Brandon Moreno was in attendance for Lone’er Kavanagh’s fight 4 years before their bout
A recent post from Cage Warriors ahead of this weekend’s UFC Mexico City essential event showed that Brandon Moreno and Lone’er Kavanagh’s paths have aligned once before.
Kavanagh earned a chance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024 after going 4-0 within the European promotion’s yellow gloves.
A post from Will_Casuals on X showed that Moreno was in attendance for Kavanagh’s debut within the promotion in 2022.
‘The Assassin Baby’ was at Cage Warriors 134 inside Indigo on the O2 in London, England just two months after he lost his flyweight title to Deiveson Figueiredo of their trilogy.
Kavanagh, alternatively, was competing in only his third pro bout, opening all the card with a primary round finish over Ryan Morgan to start a series of performances that fast-tracked him to the Octagon.
The promotion’s post caught Moreno’s attention, as he wrote in response, “Wow, life is crazy.”
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Lone’er Kavanagh now has the chance to do something Brandon Moreno did
While he’d suffered losses earlier in his profession, Brandon Moreno’s first major setback got here when he was eliminated from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ by Alexandre Pantoja.
Sergio Pettis withdrawing from his matchup with Louis Smolka gave Moreno the chance to step in while the series of ‘TUF’ that he featured on was still airing.
He capitalized in impressive fashion, submitting Smolka in the primary round to announce his arrival within the flyweight division.
Lone’er Kavanagh could also be coming off the primary lack of his profession but a win over Moreno on short notice would immediately elevate him into the division’s elite bracket.