The two most spectacular flyweights on the Cage Warriors roster will do battle when Cage Warriors returns to London on March 30.
England’s Lone’er Kavanagh and Germany’s Shawn Da Silva have become cult figures among the promotion’s fanbase due to their high-octane performances inside the Cage Warriors cage. Now the two undefeated flyweights been booked to face one another in a potential Fight of the Year contender at Cage Warriors 169.
From last night’s @CageWarriors card: Lone’er Kavanagh turning on the style at the Indigo. pic.twitter.com/0elSBJHTzd
— Simon Head (@simonheadsport) March 18, 2023
Kavanagh turned pro in 2019 and picked up two wins on the UK regional scene before joining the Cage Warriors roster in 2021. He made an instant impact on his promotional debut at Cage Warriors 134 with a third-round stoppage of Ryan Morgan, and he returned four months later to claim a unanimous decision victory over Ander Sanchez at Cage Warriors 141.
Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors
His most recent appearance came at Cage Warriors 150, where he finished previously undefeated Italian Davide Scarano with a spectacular spinning heel kick and punches to score one of Cage Warriors’ best knockouts of 2023 and take his record to 5-0.
In his first 18 months as a pro, Da Silva raced to a 4-0 record before signing for Cage Warriors and making his promotional debut at the BT Sport studios in Stratford at Cage Warriors 151: Unplugged.
The Vatoloco Show 🇧🇷🕺
Back in March, we were introduced to an instant fan favourite in the name of Shawn Marcos Claudina Da Silva…#BestOf2023 | @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/DVdM4BG2xC
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) December 28, 2023
Despite the stripped-back nature of the event, Da Silva put on a show, as he danced his way to the cage to “Mas Que Nada,” delivered a spectacular performance to finish Kiru Singh Sahota, then danced with his team to James Brown as they celebrated his victory.
Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors
That win earned him a July 2023 matchup with Kavanagh, but their scheduled bout in London at Cage Warriors 157 was scrapped after Da Silva sustained an injury in the build-up. He returned later in the year to defeat Dutch former bantamweight title challenger Gerardo Fanny at Cage Warriors 163 and improve his record to 6-0.
Now Cage Warriors matchmaker Ian Dean has rebooked the pair, and the Indigo at The O2 will be packed to the rafters on March 30 to watch two of Europe’s most entertaining flyweight prospects go toe to toe in London.
The card will also feature a pair of England vs. Italy matchups with title implications. The main event feature a bout between former featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic and Italian contender Simone D’Anna, while middleweight contenders Will Currie and Leon Aliu will face off in a main card clash.
Cage Warriors 169: Confirmed bouts
- Jordan Vucenic vs. Simone D’Anna
- Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Shawn Da Silva
- Will Currie vs. Leon Aliu
- Mateusz Figlak vs. Olli Santalahti
- James Webb vs. Yannick Bahati
- Tom Creasey vs. Amir Malekpour
- Thomas Paull vs. Dimitry Solimeis
- Mitchell Goode vs. Angus Hewett
- Tariq Pell vs. Shaun Fraser
- Joe Middleton vs. Sean McCormac
- Jimmy Quinn vs. Yohan Salvador
- Tommy Brunning vs. Kevin Cesari
