Las Vegas – Flyweight contender Lone’er Kavanagh is getting back-to-back Brandons as he looks to get past Brandon Royval at UFC 329 this weekend.
The Chinese-Irish star is 3-1 in the UFC, and coming off a sizeable upset of former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. That win came in Mexico City in enemy territory no less, making it all the more impressive and landing Kavanagh (10-1) on the radar of many UFC fans who may not have caught his run in Cage Warriors.
A victory over the second Brandon, Royval, “puts me in good stead for a title challenge,” Kavanagh opined during this week’s UFC 329 media day. “I fought Brandon Moreno, who’s a former two-time world champ. I’m fighting Brandon Royval, who has fought at that level. Last person that fought him got a title contender shot, so that’s what I want to do.”
Kavanagh had originally wanted to fight Royval in Macau, which would have been something of a home town fight for him given his mother’s heritage. The bout arriving in Las Vegas as part of UFC 329, headlined by the return of Conor McGregor, has worked out even better.
“Yeah, definitely. Obviously fighting back in Macau, it’s technically my home town. My mom’s from Hong Kong. But this is the biggest card of the year, on such a great card, I couldn’t have asked for better,” stated Kavanagh.
Kavanagh is part Irish, but also grew up a Max Holloway fan, so he’s staying away from making a prediction when it comes to the main event. Instead, he’s excited for Saturday’s headliner as a fan. He went on to tell Cageside Press, however, that he was still a little star struck being on the same card as a fighter he watched as a kid.
“It’s awesome. And talking about star-struck, if I see him, I’m all ‘that’s Max Holloway!’ The little child in me comes out. I look up to Max, and I think he’s been at the top for so long. He’s proved, he’s always had exciting fights, and I like his mindset going into things,” explained Kavanagh. “If you’d told me five years ago I’d be fighting on a card with Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, I’d told you to go do one.”
Watch the full UFC 329 media day appearance by Lone’er Kavanagh above.
