Sinead Kavanagh is an Irish female

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix , MMA Rankings, Records, Statistics is an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. According to FightMatrix: "The rankings on t ...

had her ranked #10 Women's Featherweight from April 2021 till July 2021, and March 2022. She is currently ranked #8 in the World. As of February 7, 2023, she is #10 in the Bellator Women's pound-for-pound Rankings and #3 in the Bellator Women's Featherweight Rankings.

Background

Kavanagh is the middle child in a family of five siblings. She was a tomboy growing up. At eight years old, she started training stand-up disciplines including karate, boxing and kickboxing. She continued in these for many years, and had a desire to pursue martial arts further. While still in high school, Kavanagh gave birth to her son Leon, however Leon's father died. She had a tough upbringing, with her mother forming a drinking habit after her brother and sister were killed in a car crash, and becoming homeless at a young age. Kavanagh became a five-time national boxing champion, and competed alongside Katie Taylor on the Irish team that went to the World Championships in 2012. But after losing multiple fights, she decided to quit the sport.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2015, Kavanagh made it to the finals of the

International Mixed Martial Arts Federation The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organisation under Swedish law, IMMAF serves as a democr ...

(IMMAF) World Championships, losing to Canadian fighter Jamie Herrington when the referee jumped in and stopped the fight in the third round. Afterwards, Herrington contacted her on Facebook to admit that she had failed a drug test and offered her apologies. Kavanagh made her professional MMA debut against Hatice Özyurt at BAMMA 22: Duquesnoy vs. Loughnane on September 19, 2015, defeating Ozyurt via TKO 17 seconds into the bout. Next up was future UFC fighter

Zarah Fairn Dos Santos Zarah Fairn dos Santos (born December 10, 1986) is a French female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She reached a career-best ranking of #7 at Women’s Feathe ...

at BAMMA 24: Ireland vs. England on February 26, 2016. She won the close bout via split decision. From there, Kavanagh secured her third consecutive win against Polish fighter Katarzyna Sadura BAMMA 26: Saadeh vs. Young, which she won via KO in the first round. She was rewarded by being signed to

before their show in Dublin towards the end of 2016 and has been with the promotion ever since.

Bellator MMA

Kavanagh made her Bellator debut against Elina Kallionidou at Bellator 169 on December 16, 2016; she won the bout by unanimous decision. She faced Iony Razafiarison on February 24, 2017 at Bellator 173, losing by unanimous decision. Kavanagh returned to face former Australian boxing champ

Arlene Blencowe Arlene Blencowe (born 11 April 1983) is a mixed martial artist and boxer, currently competing in the Women's Featherweight division of Bellator MMA, where she is the first Australian female fighter in the promotion's history. As of June 28, ...

on 25 August 2017 at Bellator 182. She lost the fight via split decision. She later defeated Maria Casanova via TKO at

Bellator 187 2017 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 26 events in 2017. Background This year, Bellator announced their first MMA event to be held in New ...

on November 10, 2017. Kavanagh faced

Janay Harding Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Since January 1, 2021 Sherdog has her ranked as the #7 Female Featherweight in the world. Backgr ...

at Bellator 207 on October 12, 2018. She lost the bout after it was stopped due to a cut. She was scheduled to face

Olga Rubin Olga Rubin ( he, אולגה רובין, russian: Ольга Рубин, born August 18, 1989) is an Israeli female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2016, she fought in Bellator MMA, most notably ...

at Bellator 217, however she pulled out of the bout due to injury. She faced Leslie Smith in her promotional debut at Bellator 224 on July 12, 2019. She lost the fight by majority decision. The bout against

was rebooked for Bellator 234 on November 15, 2019. She won the bout via TKO in the second round. Kavanagh won a bout with Katharina Lehner at Bellator Milan 3 on October 3, 2020, by unanimous decision. Kavanagh fought for the Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship against

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

on November 12, 2021 at

Bellator 271 Bellator 271: Cyborg vs. Kavanagh was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on November 12, 2021, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida, United States. Background The event was h ...

. After exchanging on the feet, Kavanagh was knockout out early in the first round. Kavanagh faced

Leah McCourt Leah McCourt (born 21 June 1992) is a Northern Irish professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. She is a former IMMAF World and European Amateur champion and International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fed ...

on February 25, 2022 at Bellator 275. Even though she injured her knee during the bout, Kavanagh won the bout via unanimous decision. Kavanagh faced

in a rematch on February 25, 2023 at

Bellator 291 ''Bellator 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2'' (also known as ''Bellator Dublin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on February 25, 2023, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Background On February 25, Bellator hos ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

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Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

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Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

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, TKO (punches) , Bellator 234 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:37 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–4 , Leslie Smith , Decision (majority) , Bellator 224 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (3 ...

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, TKO (cut) , Bellator 207 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Maria Casanova , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

, Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 ,

, Decision (split) , Bellator 182 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Verona, New York Verona (called ''Te-o-na-ta-le'', "''pine forest''" by the Haudenosaunee) is a town in southwestern Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,293 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Verona, Italy. Verona is located s ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Iony Razafiarison , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 173 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

, Northern Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Elina Kallionidou , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 169 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Katarzyna Sadura , KO (punches) , BAMMA 26: Saadeh vs. Young , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

, Decision (split) , BAMMA 24: Ireland vs. England , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Hatice Özyurt , TKO (punches) , BAMMA 22: Duquesnoy vs. Loughnane , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

, Ireland ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Sinead Living people Irish female mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Irish women boxers Irish female karateka Bellator female fighters 1986 births