Former BAMMA Middleweight champion Scott Askham to make UFC debut against Magnus Cendenblad in Stockholm

The undefeated fighter from Doncaster makes his debut against Stockholm native Cendenblad

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Scott Askham will be putting his undefeated record on the line as he makes his debut against Magnus  Cendenblad at UFC Fight Night Stockholm October 4th from The Globe Arena.

Doncaster local Askam (12-0) is not expecting a warm reception in Stockholm but believes this is his time to show the world what he can do:

"Ever since I started fighting it's been a dream of mine to fight in the UFC,” said Askham, “I am not here to make up the numbers, Magnus is getting put away. I am not expecting a good reception in Magnus's home town, but I am still going to put on a show for the Swedish fans."

Cedenblad made his debut at UFC Fight Night Berlin: Munoz vs Mousasi in May this year. He put on an impressive show by putting his opponent away in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

“Scott is obviously a tough opponent with a perfect 12-0 record, very much like my last opponent whom I beat, so I look forward to giving him his first loss too,” said Cendenblad. “It’s always special to be someone’s first and he will always remember me and Stockholm.”

With both fighters looking to finish the fight before the third round and impress the Swedish crowd, we can expect nothing less than fireworks on October 4th.

“Fighting at home in Stockholm with my hometown crowd backing me is going to be absolutely amazing,” Cedenblad said. “I’m pumped remembering my debut in the first UFC event, how crazy the atmosphere was, and now having seen the Dublin crowd that has set the bar on a whole different level.”

Ticket details for UFC Fight Night Stockholm will be released in the coming weeks. All bouts live and subject to change. Please visit ufc.com for more details.

Eddie Alvarez vs Donald Cerrone rumoured for UFC 178

by Ben Heather @benheather

Could Eddie Alvarez finally be set to join the UFC and end a 2 year saga between Bellator, UFC and himself? If this is true it looks like the UFC want to get him straight in to action with a match up against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone rumoured for UFC 178.

According to an unnamed source close to the bout the matchup has not yet been finalised but the source informed Sherdog.com that negotiations are ongoing. As of last night though, Eddie Alvarez still remains under contract with Bellator.

It is no secret that Alvarez only has one fight left on his Bellator contract and if he was to take a fight, say against current interim champ Will Brooks and win he will be walking away as the undisputed champion leaving behind an organistaion he has cleaned out. However, if Bellator and the UFC can come to an agreement and he leaves now it would mean that Bellator still have the ability to push Brooks as its new champion and even set up the Chandler rematch for the title.

A fight between Cerrone and Alvarez certainly appeals to me and if Alvarez does indeed join the UFC it sets up so many other interesting match ups in the UFC lightweight division, which is already stacked. The one disappointing point, if this does indeed happen would be that we may not see Alvarez vs Chandler 3. After seeing the first two fights, which could arguably be called some of the best fights in MMA history I had hoped to see the trilogy fight.

UFC 178 is already shaping up to be one of the biggest PPV's of the year with Jones vs Cormier, Cruz vs Mizugaki, McGregor vs Poirier and Kennedy vs Romero already announced. If you add Alvarez vs Cerrone to that card it will certainly prove to be an event not to be missed.

Phil Davis vs Glover Teixeira verbally agreed for UFC 179

by Ben Heather @benheather

According to Brazilian website Combate Phil Davis will be heading back to Brazil to square off against Glover Teixeira as part of the UFC 179 event headlined by Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes. Davis fought in Brazil last August where he picked up a debatable unanimous decision victory over Lyoto Machida.

The fight has not yet been signed off but Combate are reporting that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight so it should only be a matter of time before its officially announced.

Phil Davis will go in to the fight having most recently lost to Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in April, which snapped a 3 fight winning streak and he will be looking to get back to winning ways after being dominated by Rumble in his last fight.

Glover Teixeira also lost last time out in a title fight against Jon Jones. That loss ended a 8 year, 20 fight win streak and I am sure Glover will want to get another shot at Jones' title.

The winner of this fight will put his name back in the pot with the growing list of other contenders at 205lbs. However, for the loser it may be a long road back to the top with Jon Jones already set to defend his title against Daniel Cormier. Then if he wins that fight you have other contenders very deserving of a shot at the belt as well with Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson at the forefront of the list.

Five Irish fighters that could sign for the UFC by the next Dublin card

by Alex Dillon @_alexdillon_

On 19th July 2014, the UFC took its Fight Night show back to Dublin for the first time in over 5 years. Aided with the rise of Dublin’s own Conor McGregor the event sold out within 3 minutes of going on sale and in the end included 5 Irish fighters in total. With an unforgettable atmosphere, all of the Irish fighters on the card picked up great victories and really put Ireland on the MMA map.

The question now is, which fighters could potentially be signed up by the next time the UFC visit Ireland? With this presumably being next July, we look at the five potential prospect’s Irish MMA has to offer.

Joseph Duffy (10-1)

Joseph Duffy (pictured), the most known fighter out of the five in this article, Duffy is notoriously known for submitting Conor McGregor in his early days as well as Norman Parke which is something the UFC could easily market to fans wherever Duffy could possibly debut never mind Ireland. Pretty impressive but aside from these two massive victories, he actually has a very good MMA record. He hasn’t fought since a loss in October 2011 at Cage Warriors and pursued a career in pro boxing but he’s back at Cage Warriors 70 next month in Dublin and you better believe it all eyes will be on him. Out of his 10 wins, 7 are by submission and with such a finishing pedigree, this makes Duffy a very likely signee for the UFC in the near future if he gets back to winning ways.

Tommy Quinn (6-1)

Welterweight Tommy Quinn currently fights under the Cage Warriors show and has racked up an impressive record so far in his pro MMA career. Currently riding a 2 fight win streak in Cage Warriors, it’s hard not to see Quinn as a potential future UFC fighter down the line. With his only loss coming two years against well known Jack Mason, Quinn bounced back by defeating SBGi prospect Philip Mulpeter and followed that up by Knocking out Dan Hope in his last outing at Cage Warriors. Quinn’s popularity with Irish fans seems to be growing and surely this will aid a possible UFC contract if he continues to impress in the cage.

Paul Redmond (9-4)

Paul Redmond is a well known lightweight on the European MMA scene having fought numerous times for Cage Warriors holding a 6-1 record with the promotion which has turned him into one of Ireland’s hottest prospects. Training out of Team Ryano MMA in Dublin alongside team mate and UFC flyweight Neil Seery, Redmond looks to further cement his status in the pro ranks next month at Cage Warriors 70 as he takes on Michael Doyle at the Helix. Redmond has finished all but one of his wins which easily makes him a marketable fighter and you’d think if he finishes Doyle next month, the UFC is on the horizon in the near future.

Karl Moore (4-0)

Fairly new on the pro MMA scene is Karl Moore but nonetheless he’s a fighter worth looking out for judging by his first four bouts as a pro. He has so far finished all of his pro fights (1 KO, 3 Subs) with his last being a KO victory back at Cage Warriors 62. Moore also fights next month at Cage Warriors 70 in Dublin and it will be interesting to see if the Light Heavyweight man from Fight Academy Ireland can continue his impressive winning streak. With an unblemished record one would think that if Moore keeps finishing opponents it’s only a matter of time before the UFC take notice of such an entertaining fighter.

Damien Rooney (10-3-1)

Flyweight Rooney, currently fights out of Team Torres MMA and is one of many stand out Irish flyweights along with Paddy Holohan and Neil Seery of whom he has both faced and subsequently lost to. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Rooney as they are both clearly UFC calibre fighters and both fights took place 2 and 4 years ago respectively. Like most of the fighters mentioned in this article, Rooney also has an excellent finishing rate having only gone to the judges’ score cards once in his 10 victories. This certainly makes Rooney a possible candidate for a future crack in the UFC should he keep up his impressive performances at Cage Warriors and we may well see him in the octagon in the not too distant future.

All of these fighters have shown so far in their careers that they are quite possibly borderline to making the UFC grade and could be 1 or 2 wins away from that dream phone call. The majority have finishes galore on their records which obviously makes them a hit with fans and it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep up their performances so far. With all fighting under Cage Warriors it’s more than likely that the UFC will eventually spot them if they continue to impress.

Is Nick Diaz vs Anderson Silva really a "Super Fight"?

by Ben Heather @benheather

Last Night Dana White announced that Anderson Silva had signed his fight agreement and will be returning to the octagon to face Nick Diaz in Jan '15. Silva will return after over a year on the sidelines due to the horrific leg break which occured when he fought Chris Weidman at the end of 2013.

Diaz will return after retiring in the octagon after losing his title fight against GSP in March '13. The fight was announced as being the main event of the UFC 183 event on Superbowl weekend and will be at middleweight.

However, when Dana tweeted that Anderson had signed and the Diaz fight was "done" he also added #superfight which got me thinking, is this really a "Super Fight" or not?

So i asked a couple of guys on the site the same question and below you can find out whether Kingdom MMA agree with Dana or not.

Chris Houten - @mrhouts

The UFC have every right to bill Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz as a super fight. It's a coming together of two of the most popular fighters who wouldn't normally face each other due to being in different weight classes. No doubt Silva vs Diaz will do astronomical numbers, probably do double what the UFCs best pay-per-view does this year.

So I ask myself 'is Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz a super fight' and the one thing that keeps coming up in my mind is how this will be one of the biggest selling fights of all time. So yeah, in that respect Silva vs Diaz is a super fight, but it's not a dream fight.

In fact, I'm not even sure I see this being a close match up. Diaz is a good boxer, one of the best in MMA in fact, but he is nowhere near the striker Anderson Silva is. Diaz is also giving up a lot of size against Silva, and while he might have better BJJ  (not that Silva is a slouch) I just don't see Diaz being able to get this fight to the ground. In fact, Diaz' only hope might be his superior conditioning, but that would mean he would need to take a beating in the opening round and then surge later on, not an easy task considering his opponent has laid out big 'ol boys like Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin, and James Irvin, just to name a few.

So call this fight what you want, super fight, dream fight etc. just don't be surprised if we don't end with another Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks.

Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

It's a very tricky question. There is no doubt that it's a big fight, in fact a huge fight. I've not seen this much buzz over a fight announcement since Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture. Looking at that fight in comparison, that was a huge fight, but not a super fight. A superfight to me is when two world champions face off, so I wouldn't call this a superfight, but it's as close to that description as you can get. Silva is a decent PPV draw, and Diaz is one of the UFC's biggest stars, I expect the PPV to do at least 1m buys.

Ben Heather - @benheather

Like Dre said, this fight is huge and I am certainly excited. Not only for the fight alone, but also the build up which comes with any Nick Diaz fight. It will certainly be a PPV success for the UFC but the question remains, is it a "Super Fight" and I don't think it can be. How can a fight be billed as a "Super Fight" when both guys are coming in to the fight on 0-2 runs and neither of them are world champions. If this fight is a Super Fight as both have been world champs (Diaz in Strikeforce) in the past then the upcoming UFC 178 fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier should also be a Super Fight and I don't think that is either.

Anderson Silva was the key to the super fights and when Chris Weidman knocked him out he also knocked out the dream of Super Fights for now in the UFC. Silva could have challenged GSP or Jon Jones, which would have been "Super Fights" if they were all champions as was the case at the start of July '13.

For me the only "Super Fight" that could now happen in the UFC is Jon Jones vs Cain Velasquez at heavyweight. All the other champs either have a long list of contenders or have just been crowned the champ.


Thats the take of some of the writers at Kingdom MMA, let us know your thoughts on whether you think it is a super fight or not.

What’s next for Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson?

What’s next for Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson?

by Connor Hutton - @ConnorHutton94

The resurgence of UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is a story like no other, and his latest knockout victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on Fox 12 opened up a whole new chapter.

However, Johnson’s current run of success follows a much more controversial career on the whole. ‘Rumble’ first entered the UFC frame back in 2007 where his debut lasted just 13 seconds, knocking out Chad Reiner, but despite a promising start in the octagon, Johnson was criticized for cutting an extreme amount of weight from his muscular body to make 170 lbs.

Concerns over the cut became more prevalent across the next four years, as Johnson missed weight twice in his following nine UFC bouts, which did however include some impressive displays, with four first round finishes for ‘Rumble’.

Early in 2012, Johnson finally made the decision Dana White and the UFC had been longing for, by moving up to middleweight in a fight against Brazilian veteran, Vitor Belfort. However, whilst it was assumed he would find it easier to make 185 lbs, he missed the cut by 11lbs, and the early submission defeat to Belfort ultimately saw him released from the UFC.

Johnson met the most challenging crossroad of his career at this point, but thankfully, he chose the right path. With a new home at WSOF and a comfortable place for his body in the light heavyweight division, Anthony Johnson transformed into the fighter he was always capable of being, stringing together a six fight winning streak, including four KO’s.

Following success in the WSOF, the UFC called time on Johnson’s two year exile from the company and threw him into deep water upon his return this past February, as he took on top ranked light heavyweight contender, Phil Davis, and despite being a near 3/1 under-dog, Johnson dominated his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Johnson’s win streak then added an eight victim with the recent knockout of Nogueira, however this has left ‘Rumble’ in somewhat uncharted waters. With the champ, Jon Jones booked to fight Daniel Cormier and previous number one contender Alexander Gustafsson sidelined by injury, the only fighters ranked higher than Johnson are Glover Teixeira and his team-mate, Rashad Evans.

Joe Silva now faces the difficult task of managing Johnson so he can build him into a potential title contender, but which way will the UFC turn? Some say Anthony shot himself in the foot with the unexpected win over Phil Davis, suggesting he started off almost too hot, as the following opponents are likely to be further down the rankings.

A likely scenario will be that Johnson is matched up with the winner of Ryan Bader and Ovince Saint Preux, this would fit the UFC’s norm of pairing together two fighters on a win streak, but on the other hand it would probably still leave Johnson one fight away from a title shot, if he was victorious that is.

Jon Jones’ most recent opponent, Glover Teixeira is without a fight, although there has been rumblings from Phil Davis regarding a possible fight with Brazilian, and reports say the pair have verbally agreed to fight, which means the door is closing on a match-up with Johnson in what would arguably be his toughest fight to date against Glover.

One more outcome, but very unlikely, is that ‘Rumble’ will take on Gustafsson in a number one contender fight, however the UFC has made it abundantly clear that Gustafsson is unquestionably next in line. Not to mention the Swedes lay-off from injury would also put Johnson on the shelve for a few months if they signed a bout agreement, but the UFC have made a habit of going back on their word so don’t be surprised to see this fight made.

If the UFC are to go with the sensible or easy option then expect the winner of Bader/Saint Preux to take on Johnson next, but if they are feeling adventurous, a fight with Teixeira could be on the horizon if the deal with Davis falls through. Either way, the light heavyweight division has a new breath of life and maybe someday sooner rather than later, Johnson will be under the spotlight of a title fight.

Ilir Latifi returns to Stockholm to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 53

Ilir Latifi returns to Stockholm to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 53

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

UFC's return to Sweden is getting bigger as the days go on, with two more bouts being announced for the October 4 event emanating from Stockholm's Ericsson Global.

Two unranked light-heavyweight fighters will collide Sweden's Ilir 'The Sledgehammer' Latifi (9-3) will take on the former KSW light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (17-3).

Following his vicious finish of Chris Dempsey at UFC Fight Night Dublin, Latifi will be looking to use his home country advantage as he takes on a very tough and gritty Polish opponent.

Meanwhile at Featherweight, 10th ranked German Dennis Siver (21-9-1NC) will meet Scotland's Robert Whiteford (11-2) in an exciting match up. Both men have a high finishing rate, and this fight isn't expected to go the distance.

This will be Siver's first fight since his win against Manvel Gamburyan in December last year was overturned to a no contest due to Siver testing positive for hCG.

The current UFC Stockholm card:

Welterweight Nico Musoke vs. Amir Sadollah
Featherweight Niklas Bäckström vs. Mike Wilkinson
Featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Ernest Chavez
Featherweight Dennis Siver vs. Robert Whiteford
Light-Heavyweight Ilir Latifi    vs.     Jan Blachowicz

UFC Fight Night Sweden Adds Zubaira Tukhugov vs Ernest Chavez

UFC Fight Night Sweden Adds Zubaira Tukhugov vs Ernest Chavez

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

 
UFC officials have today confirmed a third addition to October's UFC Fight Night 53 card with Zubaira Tukhugov vs Ernest Chavez squaring off in a featherweight match up.

UFC Fight Night 53 takes place October 4, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The event is expected to stream live on UFC Fight Pass, and is the promotions 3rd trip to Sweden in as many years.

A product of Tiger Muay Thai alongside Brian Ebersole and Roger Huerta, Russian prospect Zubaira Tukhugov fights for the first time since his win over Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Fight Night - Machida vs. Mousasi in his UFC debut. 

A Sambo specialist, Tukhugov is currently riding a 7 fight win streak with 3 of those victories coming by TKO. A pro sine 2010, the 23-year-old has since won 16 of 19 bouts, and holds the highest rankings in Sambo - Master of Sports Hand to Hand Combat, and Master of Sports Combat Sambo.

Fighting for the 3rd time under the UFC banner, Chavez made his UFC debut at Febuary's UFC 170 defeating Yosdenis Cedeno by split decision to extending his unbeaten streak to 7-0. Following his victory over Cedeno, Chavez took on Elias Silverio who he lost to by 3rd round submission prompting a move down to the featherweight division.

Fighting out of Orange County California, the 31-year-old was expected to face Mirsad Bektic at UFC Fight Night 49 in August but was forced to withdraw from that card with injury. He will now fight in Sweden two months later.

With the addition of Tukhugov vs Chavez, UFC Fight Night 53 now includes:

Nico Musoke vs. Amir Sadollah
Niklas Backstrom vs. Mike Wilkinson
Zubaira Tukhugov vs Ernest Chavez

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Fight Night 53 Sweden 

Ex-UFC veteran Alessio Sakara set to sign with Croatia's Final Fight Championship

Former UFC veteran Alessio Sakara set to sign with Final Fight Championship 

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA 

Italian MMA fighter Alessio Sakara, who has competed at Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight in the UFC, is to join Final Fight Championship this Thursday.

Although FFC usually runs cards with both kickboxing and MMA fights, Sakara is expected to stay within MMA.

Sakara is to arrive in Zagreb, Croatia, July 24 in order to sign a contract with Croatia's biggest combat sports promotion. FFC will also have a press conference for media representatives, introducing him to the Croatian faithful.

Signing a seasoned fighter such as Sakara is big step forward for the FFC. Big names such as: Paul Daley, Eddie Sanchez and Nandor Guelmino have also signed with the promotion this year.

Sakara debuted for the UFC in 2005 and was considered a possible future star. His UFC career however was a mixture of ups and downs, with Sakara only managing his best streak of three wins between 2008-2010. This lead to him being released by the UFC after his October 2013 loss to Nico Mmusoke.

He earned the name “Legionarius” for his relentlessness and numerous KO's and tattooed his nickname on his back which later became his trademark. With a record of 15-11-1NC, Sakara defeated credible fighters such as Thales Leites and James Irvin. Although he comepted at both 205 and 185 in the UFC, it is still unknown in which division he is to fight in the FFC.

FFC President Orsat Zovko already announced Sakara is to sign with the FFC earlier this year when he also promised that there will be more big names joining the Final Fight Championship by the end of the year.

Matches to make following UFC Fight Night Dublin

Matches to make following UFC Fight Night Dublin

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

With UFC Fight Night Dublin in the books and McGregor already confirmed to be fighting Poirier at UFC 178, we take a look at additional match ups the UFC should look at following UFC Fight Night Dublin.

Gunnar Nelson vs Damien Maia
Now 4-0 in the UFC after defeating Zak Cummings by 2nd round submission, Gunnar Nelson should draw a top 10 opponent in his next match up, and I would like to see Damien Maia as that opponent. A talented grappler who's striking is ever improving, Maia will likely never challenge for the welterweight title, but still has the skills to present problems for any man at 170lbs.

From a grappling perspective who doesn't want to see Nelson vs Maia? More so though this bout makes sense as Maia will asks all of the questions that need to be asked to Nelson if he is to be a viable title challenger - can Nelson deal with a much larger welterweight, what happens when he faces a guy with better BJJ then him, and what is he like when the pressure is put on him the way Maia would.

Ian McCall vs John Lineker
With John Dodson injured and out till 2015, and Brad Pickett no longer the number one contender in the flyweight division following his loss to Ian McCall last night, the flyweight division is looking a little thin for contender at this stage.

With McCall victorious over Pickett, and John Lineker impressive in victory over Alptekin Ozkilic just a few days prior, a match up between McCall and Lineker to determine the next number one contender makes sense.

Norman Parke vs Diego Sanchez
Following his victory over Naoyuki Kotani, Parke took to the mic to declare he wants to fight Diego Sanchez next. A fight against Sanchez makes a lot if sense for Parke, he is the kind of name that could propel Parke into the top 10 with an impressive win. Parke will know he has the tools beat Sanchez as well having see Alliance teammates Myles Jury & Ross Pearson (just not on paper) recent beat Sanchez.

If the UFC are interesting in promoting Parke, as it seems that they are with the hint of a return to Belfast possible in the near future, they will also see sense in a match between Parke vs Sanchez. And as for Sanchez, we all know he's not backing down from any fight.

Ilir Latifi vs Nikita Krylov
With both men picking up impressive TKO victories in Dublin, a match up between Latifi and Krylov seems a natural pairing for the European 205ers. With both men having similar UFC records, and fighting to the same schedule currently, Latifi vs Krylov would be an exciting addition to the UFC's return to Sweden in October.

Cathal Pendred vs George Sullivan / Igor Araujo winner
Cathal Pendred produced one of the greatest comebacks the UFC has ever seen at UFC Fight Night Dublin defeating Mike King by Rear Naked Choke in the 2nd round, after taking a battering by the much larger man in the opening frame. Pendred will now return to his natural weight category, welterweight, the division where he won his Cage Warriors title.

The winner of September's bout between George Sullivan and Igor Araujo will present an interesting challenge for Pendred in different ways - Sullivan being a knockout artist and Araujo, deadly on the ground.

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: Gunnar Nelson Octagon Post-Fight Interview

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: Gunnar Nelson Octagon Post-Fight Interview

Welterweight Gunnar Nelson reflects on his 13th career victory over Zak Cummings at Fight Night Dublin.

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier Added to UFC 178

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier Added to UFC 178

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts 

 
Dustin Poirier (16-3) took to twitter after Conor McGregor's victory over Brandao to lay down the challenge, and he will now get his wish facing McGregor at UFC 178. UFC officials confirmed the bout earlier today.

UFC 178 takes place on September 27th at an as-yet-unannounced venue in Las Vegas. The card is headlined by Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson 2, and will air on live on pay-per-view in the US, and BT Sports in the UK.

Currently riding an 11 fight win streak, McGregor (15-2) took his UFC record to 3-0 on Saturday when he defeated Diego Brandao by first round TKO in front of a sold out crowd in his hometown of Dublin. In the lead up to the bout with Brandao, McGregor, who moves to 10th in the UFC's featherweight rankings following his win over Brandao, has called out the majority of the top ten in the division including Poirier for several months, and after his win this weekend Poirier accepted McGregor's challenge saying he isn't impressed with McGregor's body of work.

A 10-fight UFC vet, Dustin Poirier (16-3) is currently ranked 6th in the UFC featherweight rankings, and is currently ridding a 3 fight win streak. A member of American Top Team, Poirier is 8-2 in his UFC career with 2 TKO victories and 3 submission. Poirier has a common opponent in Diego Brandao, who he knockout in the first round at UFC 168.

With the addition of McGregor vs Poirier, UFC 178 now includes:

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Dominick Cruz vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
Amanda Nunes vs. Cat Zingano
Brian Ebersole vs. John Howard
Patrick Cote vs. Stephen Thompson

UFC Fight Night Dublin Post Fight Press Conference

UFC Fight Night Dublin Post Fight Press Conference

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: Conor McGregor Octagon Post-Fight Interview

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: Conor McGregor Octagon Post-Fight Interview

Conor McGregor reflects on his first-round win over Diego Brandao in front of his hometown of Dublin, Ireland.

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Conor McGregor Backs Up Talk With Early Stoppage of Diego Brandao

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Conor McGregor Backs Up Talk With Early Stoppage of Diego Brandao

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Irish sensation Conor McGregor backed-up all the talk he had done in the lead up to his bout with Diego Brandao on Saturday, stopping the Brazilian in the first round in front of a sold-out crowd at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin.

The fight started quick with McGregor throwing a spinning kick right off the bat. Brando fired back tagging McGregor with a couple of solid punches - the hardest McGregor will have been hit in his UFC career, before shooting for a take down which he couldn't get, and the action move towards the cage. Against the cage, McGregor hit a lateral drop takedown, where Brandao attempted a heel hook as McGregor tried to get up but the Irishman slipped out and rained down punches.

 As the bout went back to the feet, McGregor makes use of his 10-inch reach advantage, and hurt Brandao with a left. McGregor caught Brando again off a counter, dropping the Brazilian, and finished his opponent with ground strikes against the cage.

McGregor who moves to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in his UFC career, and is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster said:

“I’m going to go backstage with Mr. Lorenzo Fertitta, have a little whiskey, and talk about football stadium,”

"This is the feeling of success bursting through every vein in my body. I've been saying all week that I'd finish this guy in the first round - I seem to be predicting the future. I just felt comfortable - this is what I was put here to do. Something tells me that by the end of the year, I'll be world champion. I would turn over every man, woman and child to get that belt. And I want to fight again soon. I want to get straight back in there."

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Norman Parke Dismantles Naoyuki Kotani

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Norman Parke Dismantles Naoyuki Kotani

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Norman Parke dismantled Japanese fighter Naoyuki Kotani in decisive fashion stopping the Pride vet in the second round at UFC Fight Night Dublin to extend his UFC unbeaten run to 5 including his victory over Colin Fletcher to win The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, and declared he wants a top 15 opponent in post fight interview with Dan Hardy, inviting Diego Sanchez to the dance with 'Where you at Punk'

Fighting out of Northern Ireland, Parke was treated as one of the Irish's own throughout the fight as the cheered the Alliance MMA members on, as he repeated shook off multiple takedown attempts from Kotani, and battered Kotani with elbows on the mat.

Parke looked phenomenal as he worked over Kotani and baring a leg-lock attempt, Parke showed complete dominance on route finish the 50 fight veteran by TKO from elbows in the mat at 3.41 of the second round to earn the first stoppage victory of his career.

Later in the media room, Parke,  who moves to 20-2-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC, commended the Irish crowd for the phenomenal support and explained why he called our Diego Sanchez in his post fight interview:

"I feel great. Fighting in front of a home crowd is so special. It was just unbelievable. Even the weigh-ins last night were unbelievable with thousands of people making so much noise. It was great for me to be a part of it. Every Irish fighter has won so far tonight which has got to be a record. I called out Diego Sanchez - I think that would be an interesting match up. I want to test myself against him - I like someone who comes forward."

UFC Fight Night Dublin Generates Record Viewing Figures on Irish TV

UFC Fight Night Dublin Generates Record Viewing Figures on Irish TV

 
The UFC has announced that UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs. Brandao has become the highest rating sporting event on channel 3e in Ireland.

Coverage of the event reached an enormous 600,000 viewers in total and recorded a peak audience figure of 340,200. An impressive average of 257,500 viewers (and 21% share of the available audience) tuned in to 3e on Saturday night to watch Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor put on a spectacular performance to defeat Brazil’s Diego Brandao in his hometown of Dublin, making it the highest rating sporting event in the channel’s history.

The sold-out event at Dublin’s O2 arena, delivered massive share figures for a number of demographics, including a 36.69% share for Men 15-34 and an even more impressive 43.33% share for Adults 15-24.

In a further coup for the station, 3e’s strong Saturday schedule, which included movies X Men 2, First Blood and a UFC Countdown special, saw the channel post the biggest ever share in its history. 3e posted an all-day share of 10.15% for Adults 15-44 on Saturday 19th July, making it the highest figure of any station for the day.

Garry Cook, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said:

"This was a night that will go down in history within the UFC for the record sell out and viewership figures. The collaboration between UFC and TV3, not just on the night, but in the weeks and days leading to the event has shown how an integrated partnership can benefit both organisations. Throughout the week, TV3 and 3e aired amazing content and were able to access the athletes across a number of platforms, building anticipation and ultimately driving the record breaking audience. We would like to congratulate our friends at TV3 and we look forward to bringing more UFC events in the future."

Jeff Ford, TV3 Group Director of Content, said:

“Saturday night’s fantastic UFC ratings prove that there is a real hunger for MMA in Ireland, in particular Ireland’s own star attraction and showman Conor McGregor. 3e was the first broadcaster to take the plunge and broadcast UFC Live and Free to Air and the feedback from our viewers has been great.  We would like to thank our friends and colleagues from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their support and help and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the future.”

3e is the fourth biggest Irish TV channel, behind RTE1, TV3 and RTE2. It has a strong presence on Irish televisions and has established itself as the number one channel in the country outside of the traditional terrestrials, with a bigger share of viewing than Sky1, E4, Sky Living and 200+ other digital channels. The TV3 sister channel has a monthly reach of 3,004,700.

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Cathal Pendred Produces Memorable Comeback to Beat Mike King

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Cathal Pendred Produces Memorable Comeback to Beat Mike King

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Cathal Pendred produced one of the greatest comeback in UFC history to defeat fellow Ultimate Fighter 19 contestant, Mike King by Rear-Naked Choke on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night Dublin.

The bout started with a much larger King silenced the crowd shooting straight in for a takedown which he was able to land, but Pendred was able to get back to his feet almost instantly. With both fighter taking the centre of the Octagon, King landed a nice right hand that pushed Pendred back, but the Irishman was able to wrap King up and lands a take down of his own.

From the feet, King chases Pendred with with punches and drops the SBG fighter with a huge right hand. King swarms looking to end the fight early. Pendred some how manages to survive but King mounts Pendred eventually making his way to the back where he slapped on a Rear-Nake Choke. King took back mount letting the choke go,  and started pounding away wit heavy fist. With Marc Godard taking a close look at the action, a tiring King, attempted and armbar, and when he couldn’t get it and Pendred escaped to his feet, causing the Irish crowd exploded where the round closed. A strong argument could be made for a 10-8 round, with many outlets including ours scoring the bout that way.

The second round started Pendred, who looked like he had recovered from the damage he took in the first round catching a visibly fatigued King with his hand down land a couple of good right hand followed by an uppercut. King fired back with a kick to the body,which left an opening for Pendred to pick him up and slam him to the canvas. Pendred start to looked tired himself and this point couldn't keep King down and the two were back on their feet with 3 minutes left in the round. After a series of sloppy exchanges, Pendred was able to take Kings back for a double leg takedown. Pendred tied up King with a body lock, and sunk in a Rear-Naked choke that tight, and that quick King went unconscious before he could tap.

After the bout Cathal Pendred said: 

"Mike came out really strong but even when things aren't going my way, I can never count myself out. The crowd was amazing; it kept feeding my energy. I've shown that I'm an exciting fighter and that you can never count me out. I couldn't believe how excited Dana was about the fight. This is the fairytale start to my UFC career."

 Pendred improved to 14-2-1 overall and 1-0 in his UFC career. He will now like return to his natural weight class, 170lbs where he is currently enjoying a 7 fight win streak with notable wins over Che Mills, Gael Gimaud and Nicholas Musoke. 

UFC Fight Night Dublin Result: Nikita Krylov Hands Cody Donovan 3rd Straight Loss in Barnburner

UFC Fight Night Dublin Result: Nikita Krylov Hands Cody Donovan 3rd Straight Loss in Barnburner 

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Nikita Krylov stopped an exhausted Cody Donovan with just 3 seconds remaining in the opening round at UFC Fight Night Dublin to earn his first win in the UFC's 205lb division. The bout was part of the preliminary card in Dublin.

The bout opened with Donovan looking to land with big left hooks but Krylov was able to push the action towards the cage catching the American with a solid headkick which looked like it hurt Donovan. Donovan was able to reverse position again the cage, and take the fight to ground where the BJJ black belt attempted a armbar which Kylov was able to escape from, taking the fight back to a standing position where he caught Donovan with several solid knees.

The bout turned into a brawl with Donovan returning with hard uppercuts from the clinch, but a front kick from Krylov to the cup of Donovan halted the action to allow Donovan to recovery. When the bout restarted, The Ukrainian came out firing going back upstairs catching Donovan with a head kick which put Donovan on wobbly legs. Still in the bout though, Donovan throw a counter left which caught Krylov, dropping the fighter, where he took the back fighting for a choke. Kylov was able to defend well, and easily reverse position on a visibly tired Donovan. On top Kylov started to rain down hammerfists leaving referee Mac Goddard no choice but to step in at 4.57 of the opening round.

Krylov who now moves to 2-1 in his UFC career, and 17-4 over said following the bout:

 “I’m really happy for the win but I will see from the videos how the fight went. I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable in the Octogan each time. The first time was rough but now it feels a lot better.”

Donovan, who has now lost 3 straight fights in the UFC and will likely loss his job following the loss to Krylov said:

“He hit me with a good head kick and it was hard to recover after that. My legs were pretty wobbly, it felt like I was ice skating. My hat off to him he is a great fighter and he fought a great fight. I’m going to go home and recover. This is the third loss in a row for me so I am going to go home and think and analyse things.”

Interview: George Sullivan talks Igor Araujo and Gives his Predictions for UFC Dublin

Interview: George Sullivan talks Igor Araujo and Gives his Predictions for UFC Dublin

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Early last week, news broke George Sullivan will be returning to the octagon to face, Igor Araujo at a UFC Fight Night event in Brazil in September. We caught up with Sullivan to discuss fighting in Brazil, his opponent Igor Araujo, and to get his predictions for UFC Fight Night Dublin.

You last fought in January, talk us through what you have been doing over last few months, and how does it feel to be back in action?
It feels great to be back in action after a long layoff. I got married and went to Hawaii for a little bit. Feels great to be back and training hard.
 Your fighting Igor Araujo in Brazil in September, how do you feel about fighting in Brazil, a notorious difficult place to win?
Going to Brazil is awesome I can't wait to travel the world and fight the worlds best. It's a honor to be in Brazil and fight there.

As far as preparing myself I don't mind getting booed, it fuels me. I fought in places and have been booed hard, but after I won they cheered. You get both types of fans, respectful ones and diehard, I wanna kill you ones haha. But all in all just getting to fight in Brazil is awesome!
 
And you opponent Igor Araujo, would you say this is the toughest test of your career, and how excited are you to be fighting Araujo?
Igor is a great BJJ artist and I know he's always looking for submission, I'm very excited to test myself against him. It's classic grappler vs striker [match up] and I'm always looking for the knock out, it's what I do. This fight is awesome in my opinion, our stats are opposite, yet identical - This is gonna be a great fight!

On Saturday the UFC will be in Dublin for one of the biggest MMA fights Europe has ever seen, give us you predictions for the fight.
I've got Conor winning by TKO in round 2, Gunnar by Sub - round 3, Brad by knockout round 2, and Naoyuki to take a decision over Parke.