Lone’er Kavanagh Stops Ramazan Temirov With First-Round Uppercut at UFC 333
Lone’er Kavanagh stopped Ramazan Temirov by TKO in the first round of their flyweight main-card bout at UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The finish came at 4:28 after a counter uppercut dropped Temirov and punches on the ground forced the stoppage.
Kavanagh improved to 12-2. Temirov fell to 20-5. The English fighter entered as a slight favorite in a pick’em matchup and delivered the knockout he had predicted in the build-up.
Kavanagh landed 23 of 44 significant strikes, including one knockdown, while Temirov connected on 18 of 40. Both men focused on the head, and neither attempted a takedown. T
he fight stayed on the feet until the final sequence, when Kavanagh timed a left uppercut as Temirov pressed forward and followed with a flurry that ended the night.
The uppercut landed flush in the center of the cage and sent Temirov to the canvas. Kavanagh closed the distance and continued punching until the referee intervened. Temirov had never been knocked out in his professional career before Saturday, and the stoppage marked the first loss of that kind on his record.
Kavanagh, 27, from England, came into the fight after a submission loss to Brandon Royval in July. That setback followed a five-round unanimous decision victory over former champion Brandon Moreno earlier in the year.
He has faced several ranked flyweights early in his UFC run and needed a performance that restored momentum after the Royval defeat.
Temirov, 29, from Uzbekistan, arrived on a long winning streak that included a first-round knockout of Steve Erceg in July.
He was 3-0 inside the Octagon and had finished two of those three opponents. The power that carried those wins was present early, but the counter from Kavanagh arrived before Temirov could sustain the pressure.
Kavanagh said afterward that he had focused on keeping his hands up after previous mistakes and that the goal remains a title shot.
The finish moves him back into the conversation at the top of the 125-pound division, where several contenders remain active. Temirov’s streak ends after he could not avoid the uppercut that changed the fight in one exchange.
The flyweight picture stays crowded after the result. Kavanagh leaves Abu Dhabi with a first-round stoppage over a rising opponent and a clearer path toward ranked matchups.
Temirov will regroup after the first knockout loss of his career, while the division waits to see who steps up next against the Englishman.
