It’s no secret that the UFC had some admirers in high places, including some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Even back at events like UFC 60 in 2006, stars have been in attendance whenever the Octagon is in town.
Whether it’s to take on roles like Dwayne Johnson has done ahead of ‘The Smashing Machine’ or to stay in shape, there are some celebrities who also dabble in some training.
An undefeated UFC prospect, who moved to 9-0 earlier this year, has had the pleasure of joining two of the biggest actors in the world on the mats at the same time.
It’s not every day that you walk into a gym and see an actor who is known for bringing a Marvel character to life, let alone two of them in the same room.
Lone’er Kavanagh recalls the time that he trained with both Tom Hardy and Tom Holland at the same time
In the first episode of Corner Couch on FightFront, Lone’er Kavanagh spoke about his experience of training with Tom Hardy and Tom Holland.
The undefeated flyweight said, while sitting next to his teammate Nathaniel Wood and coach Brad Pickett, that training Jiu-Jitsu with Hardy on a fairly regular basis isn’t a strange experience despite the actor’s star status.
“It’s just normal innit, he’s just a normal geezer.”
Hardy has been a fan, and participant, for some time and the same can be said for Tom Holland, who has also stepped into the gym having been in attendance for several big UFC events.
Kavanagh said that while he has tapped Hardy in the past, he’s more than capable of holding his own on the ground before telling the story of the time that he was on the mats with both Hardy and Holland at the same time.
“I have done but he’s actually good. He’s strong as well. I did have one thing, I trained with him and Tom Holland one time so I had Spider-Man and Venom in the same room and that was one time where I was like, if you were to ask me like five years ago…”
Kavanagh added that it’s only when he sees his fellow Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in the spotlight that he remembers that Hardy is a major star.
“I forget who he is. When you see him on TV, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah f— he’s famous.'”
Lone’er Kavanagh recalls being slightly star struck when he first met Tom Holland
While his teammate Nathaniel Wood has a slightly disappointing memory of meeting one of his heroes after bumping into a drunk Ricky Hatton in Tenerife, the same can’t be said for Lone’er Kavanagh.
He said that as a big Spider-Man fan, it was a slightly strange experience to have Tom Holland introduce himself when they first met.
Kavanagh was picked out as one to watch by many when he was announced for Dana White’s Contender Series, where he produced an impressive performance to earn his UFC contract.
Clearly, Tom Hardy felt the same way after he passed the news on to Holland.
“When I met him though, he was like, ‘Oh yeah, Tom was telling me you’re on Dana White’s Contender Series blah blah blah, my name’s Tom,'” Kavanagh recalled. “I was like, he said that to me and I was a bit like, ‘You’re Spider-Man.’… He just wanted to roll one time.”