How tragedy & ‘a scary 5ft Asian’ mum shaped rising UFC star Kavanagh

Lone’er Kavanagh was around the age of six when he got a phone call from his mother which would turn his life upside down.

Kavanagh, who grew up in South West London, had to pause his gymnastics class to pick up the phone.

She told him his father had suffered a heart attack that day, was seriously ill in hospital and that he had to go and see him urgently.

By the time Kavanagh had got to the hospital, his father had died.

“It was a hard one because I spoke to him on the phone before work the morning before,” Kavanagh tells BBC Sport.

“Not having a father figure is hard growing up, that’s why I have so much respect for my mum because she has to do both roles.”

Now aged 26, Britain’s Kavanagh credits his mum as being the pivotal figure in shaping the person – and fighter – he’s become today.

Kavanagh’s last name is Irish, which comes from his dad’s side, but his first name Lone’er is Chinese, coming from his mum’s side, and translates to ‘Dragon Son’.

While growing up, Kavanagh says he started hanging around with people “he shouldn’t have been surrounded by”, so his mum pushed him towards martial arts to help him “stay disciplined”.

Last month, Kavanagh earned the biggest win of his 11-fight career by beating former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno on only three weeks’ notice.

“A lot of the stuff I do now is because of my mum. My mum is a very scary five-foot Asian lady, who was very strict growing up, but I needed it,” said Kavanagh.

“MMA helped me a lot because I didn’t have male role models to look up to. My team Ash Grimshaw, Ashkaw, Brad Pickett, I look up to these guys.

“I didn’t know what I was doing but I know my dad’s up there in heaven watching out for me, keeping me safe, and he’s always with me.”

After winning nine of the first 10 fights of his career, Kavanagh took the bout with Moreno after the Mexican’s original opponent Asu Almabayev withdrew because of injury.

In front of Moreno’s raucous home fans in Mexico City, Kavanagh rose to the occasion, winning by unanimous decision with a classy performance.

The victory catapulted Kavanagh to sixth in the UFC’s flyweight rankings, meaning one more big win could put him in contention to challenge for the title.

“One of the biggest reasons I do this is because I want to support my mum. She helped me so much growing up when she had nothing, I want to be able to give back to her,” said Kavanagh.

“I wanna be the best in the world, I wanna be champion. Secondly, I wanna be the best version of myself, that’s why I do it.”

After the win, Kavanagh said a number of famous people got in touch with him to offer congratulations, including rapper Tinie Tempah and former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

The interaction which stood out the most for Kavanagh, however, was receiving a phone call from Jon Jones – the former UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion who is regarded by many as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

“My manager said ‘look, someone’s on the phone for you’, but I couldn’t see who it was,” said Kavanagh.

“I was like ‘wow it’s Jon Jones, what is going on?’ He said ‘there’s no tell on your kicks, I really like your kicks’.

“It felt like a dream.”