This Is Ireland: The Irish MMA Scene

This Is Ireland: The Irish MMA Scene

By Andy Hickey

“You’ll never beat the Irish”. The sporting mantra of our country. The battle cry that inspires our gladiators to victory. This time we haven’t been beaten, we’ve been destroyed. Brutalized by a Russian Enigma, Our greatest warrior lay bloodied on the canvas. The King of our empire usurped in a fight that will live in infamy. Our King will return. He will make another ascent to the lightweight throne and the world will watch his invasion of Dagestan.

Outside of this, What does Ireland offer the MMA world? Our status without McGregor at the forefront is being highly questioned. The true fruits of his labour may not be felt for generations and there is currently only one other Irish born fighter on the UFC roster.

Donegal born Joe Duffy has never made the connection to the Irish public his peers have. His recent signing to dominance MMA and Ali Abdelaziz may further alienate him once the dust settles from UFC 229. The hype Duffy garnered through the intrigue of his previous victory over McGregor came to a halt at the hands of James Vick last November.

A convincing TKO loss and subsequent Shoulder injury leading to a near year long layoff have seen Duffy disappear off all media radars. He faces a long road to become relevant again at lightweight. His position as the only other Irish fighter in the UFC may provide him with the spark he needs to reignite his career. Marketing often beats talent with the UFC brass.

Fighters in title contention for a major promotion are in short supply. Sinead Kavanagh battles Janay Harding at Bellator 207 in a fight that will most likely decide the next challenger to Julia Budd’s throne. 1-2 in her last 3, KO hasn’t fought as yet in 2018. Her position as a title challenger is more an indictment of WMMA than a reward for her displays. Whatever the case, she has a chance to showcase her skills on one of Bellator’s biggest cards of the year. A reward befitting one of the pioneers of female mixed martial arts alongside Aisling Daly.

If Conor Mcgregor is the king of Irish MMA, the prince is undeniably Strabane’s James Gallagher. At just 21 years old, Gallagher is one of the biggest prospects in MMA. Immense pressure lay on the shoulders of the SBG product with the expectation in his home country that he will follow in the Notorious one’s footsteps. He has all the tools at his disposal to achieve champion status.

His highly touted BJJ mixed with an innate ability to finish and a flair for the dramatic will see him pushed hard by Scott Coker in the coming years. Met with adversity in his most recent bout against Ricky Bandejas, The Strabanimal faced a spiteful backlash due his persistent pre-fight trash talk failing to manifest into a performance befitting of the hype he had generated. Win or Learn! The Jimmy show has a bright future.

SBG’s influence in the sport have seen Bellator sign a litany of relatively unknown Irish based fighters on what looks like a desperate bid to replicate the massive financial success the fighting Irish have generated in recent years.

UFC vet Norman Parke, Former Cage warriors LHW champion Karl Moore, Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner Myles Price and uber prospect Kiefer Crosbie are among the notables signed.

They join an already vast Irish contingent in the promotion. Tipperary’s own Will Fleury transitioned from the wild scenes of African MMA at 4-0 and was subsequently handed his first career loss. Both Charlie Ward and Richie Smullen now reside in Bellator after quick UFC runs that saw them enter the organisation in the infancy of their careers.

Ward made his debut as a known entity after his infamous bout with Joao Carvalho (RIP). He failed to make an impact in the octagon but 2018 has seen him rebound strongly. He sites not draining his body to welterweight as the key to his resurgence.

Smullen has joined him in Bellator after failing in his bid to claim the TUF 27 title. He looks to rebound after a loss to Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Pena. The question has to be asked-Are SBG fighters entering the bigger promotions too quickly and hindering their development? Learning on the biggest stage with limited time to hone their craft on the regional circuits. Its feasible the craving for Bellator to find the next Conor McGregor is hindering the current wave of talent. Only time will tell. Not other nation is witnessing its fighters on the global scene at such any early stage than Ireland. For our population we should be seeing minimal numbers make the breakthrough.

Outside of the major promotions, much like the UFC/Bellator, it’s been a mixed bag for the known the prominent combatants.

Peter Queally came away with one of the biggest Irish victories this year when he devastated David Khachatryan under the Fight night global banner in Russia. Underrated to the core, The showstopper has made a living fighting Eastern Europe’s finest in their own backyard. His long awaited shot at the big time has come with Bellator. A legitimized competitor, a dual with team Nogeuira is on the horizon. It could be the slingshot to notoriety Queally warrants.

Rhys Mckee dropped his BAMMA lightweight title but ultimately came out a winner in the end when he was signed for Cage Warriors. Another of the finest prospects Europe. The man known as Skellator is one of the few fighters outside the SBG brand that is shining around the European scene.

Paul Redmond and Chris fields suffered devastating Knockout losses for Polish based promotion KSW. Redmond came into Bellator with the Irish expansion despite the loss. His name value from his time in the UFC keeping him relevant. Fields, 35, has probably seen his best days but brings constant entertainment wherever he goes.

Dylan “The Nuke” Tuke suffered the defeat in his only bout of the year. One of John Kavanagh’s most highly touted students, Tuke has a habit of forgetting his talent and engaging in rock em sock ems.

SBG hunter Joe McColgan hasn’t competed in a year and BAMMA have signed a lot of regional Irish talent. Team Ryano prospects being the major beneficiaries.

It’s been one of the toughest years as a fan of Irish MMA since Tom Egan brought us to the scene at UFC 93. Titles lost, prospects halted, losses on the biggest stages and our reputation taking a hit at seemingly every venture. 5 years ago we were here to takeover. For now, we will have to settle for taking part. Just remember one thing we may be down but we will be back because you’ll never beat the Irish!