Lone'er Kavanagh wants UFC flyweight title shot and would be backup for Van v Kape
The English flyweight said he is happy to wait for the winner of Joshua Van v Manel Kape after stopping Ramazan Temirov in the first round in Abu Dhabi.
Lone'er Kavanagh says he is chasing the UFC flyweight title next and would step in as the backup for Joshua Van's title defence against Manel Kape.
Speaking at the UFC 333 post-fight press conference in Abu Dhabi, Kavanagh said: "I'm here for that title, you know, so I'd like to think that it puts me right back at the top for title contender. I know they've just announced [Kape] and Van, so I'm happy to wait for the winner."
Asked whether he would be the backup for that fight, he said: "Yeah, yeah, definitely."
Van defends the title against Kape at UFC 336 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on 30 January. The fight was announced during the UFC 333 broadcast.
Kavanagh stopped Temirov at 4:28 of the first round to move to 11-2, after coming into the fight off a loss to Brandon Royval.
Asked whether he had his eye on the UFC's return to London, usually around March, he said: "Always. I love fighting at the O2."
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Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.