Lone’er Kavanagh knocked out Ramazan Temirov in the first round at UFC 333 on Oct. 24, and before the arena lights cooled he was asking for gold. Sherdog reported that the British flyweight is targeting the winner of Joshua Van vs. Manel Kape.
His own promotion’s social team didn’t push back. “Get Lone’er Kavanagh a top five opponent next!” UFC Europe wrote on X on Oct. 25.
The finish paid well. Kavanagh banked a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus, and the UFC announced on X that he shared the honor with Alexander Volkanovski. That’s decent company for a Saturday.
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Kavanagh is 11-2 and sits No. 8 in the Knockout Daily flyweight rankings. He trains at Great Britain Top Team in London, came up through Cage Warriors and earned his UFC contract by knocking out An Tuan Ho in the first round on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2024.
His UFC run has been uneven, and he has never hidden from anybody. He opened with decision wins over Jose Ochoa and Felipe dos Santos, then got knocked out by Charles Johnson in the second round in August 2025. Then came the move that made me a fan. He was pulled off a scheduled fight with Bruno Silva to replace an injured Asu Almabayev against former two-time champion Brandon Moreno in a main event on Feb. 28, 2026, and he won a unanimous decision. In July he lost to Brandon Royval by third-round rear-naked choke at UFC 329, a fight that still earned Fight of the Night.
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So that’s 4-2 inside the Octagon, with the Royval loss barely three months old. A title ask from No. 8 is a big swing. The flyweight matchmakers have shown they like a big swing.
Van is the reigning UFC flyweight champion at 18-2. He became the promotion’s first Asian-born male champion at UFC 323. He and Kavanagh also share a scar: Charles Johnson knocked Van out in the third round in July 2024.
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Van meets Kape at UFC 336 in Toronto on Jan. 30, 2027, on a card headlined by Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales. If the UFC listens to its own European account, Kavanagh probably sees a top-five name before any belt. If he wants the faster route, he just needs Toronto to end messy and the champion to need a dance partner.
