Rivalries: Sinead Kavanagh

A former sparring partner has drawn Sinead Kavanagh’s gaze.

“KO” will do battle with SBG Ireland stablemate and fellow Top 5 Bellator MMA women’s featherweight contender Leah McCourt in the Bellator 275 co-main event on Friday at 3Arena in Dublin. Kavanagh, 36, has won two of her past three bouts. The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts veteran owns a middling 4-5 record in Bellator, her resume highlighted by victories over Katharina Lehner, Maria Casanova and Elina Kallionidou.

As Kavanagh moves ever closer to her three-round confrontation with McCourt, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape her career to this point:

Arlene Blencowe

The hard-nosed Australian did just enough to eke out a split decision over Kavanagh in their Bellator 182 prelim on Aug. 25, 2017 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. Judges Chris Lee and Dave Tirelli struck 29-28 and 30-27 scorecards for Blencowe, while David Bruce saw it 29-28 for Kavanagh. Blencowe bloodied the SBG Ireland export’s nose in the first round and countered effectively throughout the second, appearing to build a significant lead in their competitive confrontation. Her right hand proved to be the dominant weapon the fight. Kavanagh stepped up her aggression in Round 3, took advantage of the Aussie’s willingness to fight off the counter and connected with a jarring left hook at close range. However, those efforts proved to be too little too late, as Kavanagh’s inconsistency through the first 10 minutes came back to bite her on the scorecards.

Leslie Smith

The former Invicta Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship contender escaped her anticipated promotional debut with a contentious majority decision over Kavanagh as part of the Bellator 224 undercard on July 12, 2019 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 28-28. The result remains a subject of debate to this day. Smith and Kavanagh spent the entire fight exchanging blows on the feet, with each woman seizing the reins of momentum at various points in the match. All three rounds were closely contested, though Smith appeared to edge in front with some of her patented volume punching and through sheer force of will. The loss was Kavanagh’s fourth in five appearances and left her searching for answers in the women’s featherweight division.

Olga Rubin

The Israeli bore the brunt of Kavanagh’s frustration when she succumbed to punches in the second round of their featured Bellator 234 prelim on Nov. 15, 2019 at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. Rubin checked out 4:37 into Round 2. Initially, it did not go according to plan for Kavanagh, who entered the cage on the heels of back-to-back losses. Rubin pressed the issue behind a series of stout left hands, opened a cut near the Irishwoman’s right eye, executed a takedown inside the first 30 seconds and applied her ground-and-pound after shedding an attempted guillotine. Kavanagh managed to stay upright in the second round and let her powerful hands do the rest, as she eventually wore down her adversary. She denied a takedown late in the period, pinned a visibly fatigued Rubin to the fence and cut loose with punches to the body and head, forcing referee Todd Anderson to intervene on the Brad Pickett protégé’s behalf.

Cristiane Justino

Those who dare to stand and trade with “Cyborg” do so at their own peril—a lesson with which Kavanagh grew intimately familiar. Justin retained the undisputed Bellator MMA women’s featherweight championship in resounding fashion when she knocked out the SBG Ireland rep in the first round of their Bellator 271 headliner on Nov. 12, 2021 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Kavanagh bit the dust 92 seconds into Round 1, her name having been added to the Brazilian juggernaut’s long list of victims. Justino blitzed out of the gate, settled into the clinch and then drifted back to open space. The two women traded shots along the fence, and though Kavanagh circled out and connected, her chin could not withstand the return fire. Justino folded her with a clean right hook, trailed her to the canvas and drew the curtain with a burst of hammerfists.