Former Bellator MMA featherweight title challenger Sinead Kavanagh is in legal trouble after being arrested earlier this week following an incident on a Ryanair flight about to depart from Spain to her native Ireland.
Kavanagh was aboard the aircraft, set to travel from Gran Canaria, Spain, to Dublin, Ireland on Monday evening when the incident transpired. In video footage circulating online, Kavanagh can be seen in a physical altercation with two agents of the Civil Guard.
Footage shows Kavanagh striking the officers in a scuffle, though the short clip does not depict how the fracas broke out.
Video footage of the incident involving Irish MMA fighter, Sinead Kavanagh.
Spanish police on boarded a Ryanair flight from Gran Canaria to Dublin earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/83X5W9dNgm
— Kirk_Loco (@TezTruth81) November 26, 2025
A report by the Spanish language Atlantico Hoy claimed that takeoff was delayed due to the fighter, who allegedly displayed a “violent attitude” towards crew members.
When the Civil Guard arrived to remove Kavanagh from the plane, things took a physically violent turn.
Kavanagh was taken into custody, but later freed under a “provisional release” following a court appearance the following day in Telde, Spain. The incident remains under investigation.
Sinead Kavanagh has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
A member of SBG Ireland alongside the likes of Conor McGregor and Gunnar Nelson, Kavanagh (9-7) challenged for Bellator’s women’s 145lb title in 2021, losing via knockout at the hands of Cris Cyborg. The 39-year old last competed in June of 2024, when she was submitted by fellow Bellator alumni Arlene Blencowe.
Kavanagh holds notable wins over Olga Rubin, Katharina Lehner, Janay Harding, Leah McCourt, and UFC vet Zarah Fairn dos Santos.
