The UFC are about to return to Ireland.
It will be the promotion’s fourth trip to the country, and looks likely to occur on Sunday, May 27. MMAFighting first reported the news. It’s been three years since the company has held a fight card in Ireland, with the last event being headlined by Paddy Holohan vs. Louis Smolka, after the original headlining act of Joe Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier was scrapped.
Dublin was also the home to UFC Fight Night 46, where Conor McGregor defeated Diego Brandao in a return from injury. That night has gone down in MMA folklore after the raucous celebrations from the Irish crowd, and the fact that all five Irish representatives ( Holohan, Norman Parke, Neil Seery, and Cathal Pendred) who fought that night came away victorious.
Despite the UFC’s three year absence from the country, Ireland remains a hotbed for mixed martial arts. Bellator have been holding shows there, and names such as James Gallagher, Richie Smullen and Cian Cowley show signs of a new generation of up and coming talent.
