Unbeaten flyweight and Cage Warriors alum Lone’er Kavanagh looked to put on another strong showing at UFC London on Saturday — but Brazil’s Felipe dos Santos showed him little respect early in their preliminary card encounter.
It was dos Santos landing a right hand in the early going, before the pair found themselves in a grappling exchange along the fence. Leg kicks were also in the mix early for dos Santos, no doubt hoping to slow Kavanagh a step. In clinch, dos Santos fired knees while Kavanagh tried to wrap up a choke to no avail. A spinning elbow from dos Santos off the break then drew a gasp from the crowd at the O2 Arena. It also opened up a small cut on Kavanagh.
The action in round two was fast and furious, with Kavanagh hemming in dos Santos along the fence, firing lefts and rights. The crowd, very into the action inside the cage, was on their feet; the fighters themselves would end up going to the ground, and while Kavanagh was on top, dos Santos was crafty off his back. He fired punches up at his opponent while looking to control the wrists, and potentially set up a submission. When dos Santos scrambled back to his feet, however, Kavanagh slammed him right back down, easily defending a guillotine and settling into his opponent’s guard.
Though dos Santos would pop back up again, it was rinse and repeat for Kavanagh, who despite being bloodied from that early elbow finished on top in an extremely dominant round.
Early in the third, Lone’er Kavanagh just ever so slightly grazed dos Santos with a head kick. As the round progressed, he seemed to be in the zone, eventually getting dos Santos to his back. Kavanagh had to be wary of (illegal) upkicks; dos Santos again escaped to his feet, and again was taken right back down. This time, following a failed guillotine attempt, dos Santos was warned for firing elbows to the spine.
Felipe dos Santos would finish the fight on his feet, looking for an increasingly necessary finish that never arrived. Instead, it was Lone’er Kavanagh improving to 9-0 in his second UFC fight.
Official Result: Lone’er Kavanagh def. Felipe dos Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
