Michael Bisping raves about ‘really special’ fighter as undefeated prospects clash at UFC Macau

Michael Bisping is excited to see another English prospect in MMA's premier division.

The former middleweight champion was on commentary alongside Laura Sanko and John Gooden as 7-0 flyweight fighter Lone'er Kavanagh made his corporate debut at UFC Macau on Saturday morning.

Kavanagh earned his UFC contract by scoring a spectacular one-punch knockout of Dana White on the Contender Series in August, but he had to rely on the judges to get the job done against fellow prospect Jose Ochoa.

Still, he did enough to impress Michael Bisping, moving to 8-0 and announcing himself as a future contender.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Michael Bisping is excited about England's flyweight prospect

Lone'er Kavanagh had a lot of hype surrounding him heading into UFC Macau, but he didn't get an easy opponent for his UFC debut. Jose Ochoa boasted a 7-0 (1NC) record despite being two years younger than his 25-year-old opponent.

It was a close and competitive fight, but Kavanagh seemed to gain the upper hand in the first round.

A similar story unfolded in the second frame, with Bisping predicting that Kavanagh “could be very special.”

The UFC Hall of Famer added that the same praise could be applied to Ochoa just before he seemingly hurt his opponent's body and began swarming in search of an upset finish.

Ochoa jumped on Kavanagh's back and started to squeeze for a rear naked choke, but the GB Top Team star was able to hold on until the end of the round.

Kavanagh looked unfazed in the final frame as he continued to impress with his striking, hitting Ochoa with a spinning back kick to the jaw at the end of their 15-minute segment.

Ultimately, the UFC Macau judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in his favor.

Kavanagh certainly seems like a prospect to keep an eye on in 2025 and beyond.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Lone'er Kavanagh lost his first two MMA fights

Lone'er Kavanagh has come a long way since making his amateur MMA debut at the age of 14.

In September 2013, Festus Ahorlu made a decision against the UFC prospect at Fury MMA.

Two years later, Kavanagh returned to the sport and lost again. In October 2015, he suffered a rear-naked choke defeat to Jawany Scott at Rise Of Champions.

Kavanagh ended his amateur career with an unimpressive 3-2-2 record, but since turning pro in 2019 he has looked almost perfect.

He told the Irish Star ahead of his UFC debut: “I had my first ever amateur fight when I was 14 years old and I obviously built myself up through the ranks, making mistakes and learning from them. I feel like it made me the fighter I am today.

“For me, you have to make mistakes to learn. During my amateur career, I made a few mistakes when I got to the pros… I feel like I've been trying to refine myself through my teammates and everything else, through my coaches, and getting better and better every time. ”

“Of course losing sucks, but when I went through those losses I realized that I never want to lose again. I do what I can, I train my ass. I do what I can to make sure I never feel those feelings again.”

Related posts