LONE’ER KAVANAGH STOPS RAMAZONBEK TEMIROV AT UFC 333

Lone’er Kavanagh stopped Ramazonbek Temirov in the first round of their flyweight bout at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Referee Mike Beltran ended the contest after Kavanagh knocked his opponent down and struck him on the canvas. The win came three months after Brandon Royval submitted Kavanagh at UFC 329 in July. Kavanagh told Daniel Cormier after the fight that he wanted to pursue the flyweight title.

Kavanagh pressed Temirov early at the Etihad Arena and landed low kicks. Both fighters initially held back from throwing combinations, then exchanged jabs. Kavanagh landed a left hook after feinting a takedown, and Temirov answered with a right hand. As Temirov moved forward, Kavanagh circled away and caught him with a counter left uppercut. Kavanagh followed up with punches before Beltran stopped the fight.

Kavanagh entered UFC 333 ranked sixth in the UFC flyweight division. Earlier in the year, he beat former champion Brandon Moreno in Mexico City after accepting the fight on three weeks’ notice. Reflecting on that experience before UFC 333, Kavanagh said: “I want legendary moments.” Alexander Volkanovski headlined the Abu Dhabi card and stopped Evloev in the second round to retain his featherweight title. Flyweight champion Joshua Van is due to defend his title against Manel Kape at UFC 336 on 30 January.