Cathal Pendred Signs for The UFC, Meets Mike King in Dublin

Cathal Pendred Signs for The UFC, Meets Mike King in Dublin

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Fresh off a stint on this season's Ultimate Fighter, Cathal Pendred has signed a contract with the UFC and will join SGB Ireland teammates, Conor McGregor,  and recently signed Paddy Holohan on July's UFC Fight Night card in Dublin.

UFC Officials have today confirmed Cathal Prendred will meet Ultimate Fighter season 19 teammate Mike King at UFC Fight Night 46 at The o2 Arena in Dublin, on July 19. UFC Fight Night 46 will stream live on UFC Fight Pass, and is also expected to be shown on BT Sports in the UK. Irish fans will be able to watch the show on free to air 3e. It is not yet know whether the fight will take place on the events the preliminary portion, or the main card.

One of the hottest prospects in European MMA, Cathal Pendred (13-2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was widely tipped to take a place on the UFC roster at some stage following a series of victories which saw him beat some of the finest welterweight in Europe including Che Mills and Gael Grimaud, however the Irishman opted to join season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter rather than wait for the call from the UFC to come.

In a Ultimate Fighter first, Pendred did not have to fight for his place to get into the house, as other did, after the UFC could not find a fighter to take him on for various reasons.

Picked 3rd by Team Penn, Pendred kick-started the season by defeating Hector Urbina in the quarterfinals via unanimous decision. In the semifinals, he lost a razor-thin split decision to now-finalist Eddie Gordon, a bout which many feel, including Dana White should have gone the other way.

His opponent, Mike King (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) defeated Nordine Taleb to earn a place in The Ultimate Fighter season 19 house, before losing a close decision in the quarterfinals Eddie Gordon,  in a bout where King suffered a gruesome eye poke but continued to fight despite the injury.

A talented wrestler, Mike King has never been the distance in his 5 professional fight career dating back to 2011 with 4 submission - 2 due to strikes, and 1 TKO. When he steps into the octagon to face Pendred it will be 18 months since his last professional bout, excluding his time in TUF. 

With the addition of Pendred vs King UFC Fight Night 46 includes:
Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao
Zak Cummings vs. Gunnar Nelson
Ian McCall vs. Brad Pickett
Ilir Latifi vs. Tom Lawlor
Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
Trevor Smith vs. Tor Troeng
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Norman Parke
Patrick Holohan vs. Josh Sampo
Mike King vs. Cathal Pendred

Stay tuned to kingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Fight Night 46 Dublin

UFC Partner with 3e in Ireland for UFC Fight Night Dublin

UFC Partner with 3e in Ireland for UFC Fight Night Dublin

The UFC has announced its first ever free-to-air broadcast agreement in Ireland.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT DUBLIN: MCGREGOR VS. BRANDAO, which will take place on 19th July at the O2 Arena in Dublin, will be broadcast on channel 3e in Ireland. 3e, part of the TV3 network, will broadcast the main card on a live basis from 8pm, together with features and enhanced editorial across the TV3 Group in the lead up to the event.

This is the first time a UFC event will be broadcast to a terrestrial audience in Ireland, marking a significant step forward for the organisation in this region.

TV3 reaches in the region of 3.5million individuals each month, equivalent to 85.1% of the available viewing population. It is the largest commercial TV channel in Ireland, and has a bigger market share for adults than BBC1, UTV, Channel 4 or Sky 1 combined.

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

“The popularity of the UFC in Ireland continues to grow at an enormous rate. With a number of talented Irish fighters on the card and the record breaking sell-out audience at the O2 arena, it was only right that we also offered access to this incredible event to audiences in Ireland via a free to air TV agreement. We are incredibly excited to make this announcement and we are confident that this is only the beginning of things to come for our sport in Ireland.”

Interest in the UFC is not only growing in Ireland, but it continues to soar elsewhere across Europe and in the Middle East. Already this year the UFC has delivered live events in London, Abu Dhabi and Berlin, with plans to host two further EMEA events after Fight Night Dublin, before the end of 2014.

The TV3 Group has an impressive track record in bringing major international sporting events in to homes across Ireland. The network has televised more than 150 live UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games since 2009. TV3 have also secured the live broadcast rights in Ireland for all 48 matches for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

TV3 Group Head of Sport, Kieran Holden, said;

“We are thrilled to be able to broadcast Conor McGregor’s homecoming bout for UFC’s Dublin event on 3e, on 19 July. Conor’s progress through the MMA ranks has been phenomenal and we are delighted that we are able to show this event to his growing fan base here live and for free on 3e.”

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

Video: Paddy Holohan 2014 MMA Highlights

Video: Paddy Holohan 2014 MMA Highlights

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Not too sure who new UFC Flyweight Paddy 'The Hooligan' Holohan is? Don't worry Christopher Hegarty also know as Bloodstream MMA, has got you covered with this exception highlights video, showing you exactly what to expect from the SBG Ireland fighter when his makes is UFC Debut against Josh Sampo next month.


You can check out of of Hegarty's videos on his Youtube channel HERE, and you can also follow him on twitter @BloodstreamMMA

UFC Sign Paddy Holohan, Meets Josh Sampo in Dublin

UFC Sign Paddy Holohan, Meets Josh Sampo in Dublin

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

UFC officials have today confirmed Irish prospect Paddy Holohan has signed with the promotion and will meet Josh Sampo at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin.

UFC Fight Night 46 takes place July 19th at The O2 in Dublin, and is headline by Conor McGregor vs Diego Brandao. The event will stream live on UFC Fight Pass, and will also be broadcasted on BT Sports in the UK. It is not known yet if Holohan vs Sampo will feature on the preliminary card or the main card.

Fighting out of SBG Ireland alongside top Irish fighters such as UFC Fight Night 46 headliner Conor McGregor and TUF 19 stars, Cathal Pendred and Chris Field, 26-year-old Paddy Holohan is currently riding a 10 fight unbeaten streak, enough to earn the Irishman a contract with the UFC.

Formerly a bantamweight, Paddy Holohan (9-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) tried out for season 18 of the Ultimate Fighter but was knocked out of the fight to get into the house by Josh Hill. A veteran of top Irish promotion Cage Contenders, it will be 2 years since Holohan last fought professionally when he steps into the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 46.

A pro since 2009, Sampo (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made his UFC debut at Novembers TUF 18 finale defeating Ryan Benoit by Rear Naked Choke while putting on a fight of the night winning performance. However as Sampo missing weight before the bout, he forfeited his £50,000 bonus cheque to Benoit. Following the victory over Benoit, Sampo then went on to fight former Bellator champion Zak Makovsky, who he lost to by unanimous decision at UFC 170. The lost to Makovsky snapped a five fight win streak for the 29-year-old who has 6 submissions in 11 victories.

With the addition of Holohan vs Sampo, UFC Fight Night 46 card includes:

    Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao
    Zak Cummings vs. Gunnar Nelson
    Ian McCall vs. Brad Pickett
    Ilir Latifi vs. Tom Lawlor
    Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
    Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
    Trevor Smith vs. Tor Troeng
    Naoyuki Kotani vs. Norman Parke
    Patrick Holohan vs. Josh Sampo

Stay Tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Fight Night 46

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs Brandao Preview

Video: UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs Brandao Preview

The UFC returns to Dublin, Ireland after five years with an action packed card featuring, Conor McGregor and Diego Brandao.

Cole Miller Out, Conor McGregor Now Meets Diego Brandao

Cole Miller Out, Conor McGregor Now Meets Diego Brandao

Cole Miller will no longer fight at UFC Fight Night 46 due to torn ligaments in his hand which sees the featherweight currently in a full cast.  UFC official today confirmed Conor McGregor will instead face Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner Diego Brandao in the main event in Dublin, with UFC president Dana White saying:

"Diego Brandao is explosive and a well-rounded fighter. This should be a war," said UFC president Dana White.

UFC Dublin takes place July 19th at the The O2 Arena. Tickets for will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie

McGregor new Opponent Brandao (18-9 MMA, 4-2) enters the bout looking to bounce back from a disappointing first round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 168 where he came in the bout 6lbs overweight; the bout put to bed a 3 fight win streak which sent the Brazilian beat Joey Gambino, Pablo Garza, and Daniel Pineda.

A Black-belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Brandao began his career in his career in his native Brazil before relocating to the states to train under Greg Jackson. Following a fight of the night, and submission of the night victory over Dennis Bermudez to take home the TUF 14 crown, Brandao has been on a 3-2 run which has been good enough to enough a place at 15 in the official UFC featherweight rankings, 2 places below Conor McGregor.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest of UFC Fight Night 46   

Ryan La Flare out, Zak Cummings meets Gunnar Nelson at UFC Dublin

Undisclosed Injury to La Flare forces a change to UFC Fight Night 46
by Chris Houten @mrhouts

Fresh of his UFC Fight Night 40 victory over Yan Cabral, Zak Cummings (17-3 UFC, 2-0 MMA) meets Gunnar Nelson (12-0-1 UFC, 3-0 MMA) as a replacement for Ryan La Flare who has been removed from the card for unconfirmed reasons.

UFC Fight Night 46 Dublin takes place July 19th at the The O2 Arena. Tickets for will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie.

Originally scheduled to face Kenny Robertson at UFC Fight Night 45 on July 16 at UFC Fight Night 45 on Atlantic City, Cummings will now fight 3 days later at UFC Fight Night 46, the UFCs 3rd European event of 2014.

A former MFC middleweight champion, Cummings made his UFC debut win a submission of the night D'Arce Choke victory over Ben Alloway at UFC Fight Night 27 this past August, which his followed up with a unanimous decision victory over Yan Cabral at last months Fight Night 40. A winner of 4 straight fight, The welterweight has only lost 3 times in his career, with loses coming to Ryan Jimmo at light heavyweight, as well as Tim Kennedy and Elvis Mutapcic both at Middleweight. a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Cummings has 9 wins by submission and 4 by TKO.

Widely considered one of the hottest prospects in Europe along side SBG teammates Conor McGregor and Cathal Pendrad, Iceland born Renzo Gracie Black belt Gunnar Nelson fights for the 4th time at UFC fight night 46 on the back of an impressive, performance of the night first round victory over Omari Akhmedov. A pro since 2007 Nelson has finished all but one of his opponents inside the distance and holds UFC victories over DaMarques Johnson, former Sengoku champion Jorge Santiago and the aforementioned Omari Akhmedov.

With the addition of Nelson vs Cummings, UFC Fight Night 46 now includes:

Conor McGregor vs. Cole Miller
Zak Cummings vs. Gunnar Nelson
Ian McCall vs. Brad Pickett
Ilir Latifi vs. Tom Lawlor
Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
Trevor Smith vs. Tor Troeng

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Ufc Fight night 46.

Tor Troeng Meet Trevor Smith at UFC Dublin

Tor Troeng Meet Trevor Smith at UFC Dublin
by Chris Houten  - @mrhouts

A battle between 2 Middleweights hoping to get back in the win column has been confirmed for UFC Dublin.

Former Utimate Fighter Season 17 cast member Tor Troeng (16-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) of Sweden will take on American, Trevor Smith (11-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin. UFC Fight Night 46 Dublin takes place July 19th at the The O2 Arena. Tickets for will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie.

Fighting for the 3rd time in his UFC career, Troeng enters the bout looking to rebound from a disappointing decision loss to Rafael Natal at this past Septembers UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs Bader, which snapped a 5 fight win streak.

Fighting out of Sweden's Allstair Training Center alongside top Swedish stars such as Alexander Gustaffson and newly signed UFC featherweight Niklas Bakstrom, Troeng, who has taken 12 of his 16 career victories inside the distance, earned a reputation as one of the finest Middleweight in Europe thanks to wins over current UFC Middleweight Mats Nilsson, and Mark Weir before joining the Utimate Fighter, where he was eliminated in opening round, losing to Josh Samman. A pro since 2005, the 31-year old entered the UFC with a win over Adam Cella at UFC on Fuel TV 9 - Mousasi vs. Latifi in his native Sweden.

Trevor Smith enter the octagon in need of a win to change round the fortunes which have seen him go 1-2 since joining the UFC. Fighting out of Ring Demon Jui-Jitsu in Washington, the 33-year old has arguably yet to prove he deserves to fight on the big stage having come up on both sides of two split-decision results to open his UFC career, defeating Brian Houston but falling short against Ed Herman, before being knocked out by Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night 39 in his most recent outing.

A 4-time Strikeforce vet, where he went 2-2, Smith, Nicknamed 'Hot Sauce' Smith, is a strong grappler with a strong college wrestling background. He has taken 9 of his 11 victories by submission.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Fight Night 46 Berlin.
 

Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov Set For UFC Dublin

Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov Set For UFC Dublin
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Cody Donovan will meet Nikita Krylov at UFC Dublin in a potential loser goes home match up.

UFC Dublin takes place July 19th at the The O2 Arena. Tickets for will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie

Fighting for the 4th time in his UFC Career, Cody Donovan (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will be faced with the prospect of needing a win to save his UFC career when he takes on Nikita Krylov in Dublin in July.

A product of Grudge Training Center, and a Brazilian Jui Jitsu black belt under Nate Marquart, Donovan began his UFC career with a knockout victory over Nick Penner at UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson as a last minute replacement for injured Eddie Mendez. Taking the bout on just 9 days notice, Donovan was able to despatch of Penner in the first round in an entertaining bout which earned Fight of the Night honors.

Following his victory over Penner, Donovan faced Ovince St. Preux on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26, to whom he lost by first round TKO. In his most recent outing the 33 year old from Iowa, who has previous competed in Bellator, lost to Gian Villante, again by TKO to extending his losing streak to 2, making it vital he picks up a win in his next bout. 

At Just 22-years old former heavyweight Nikita Krylov (16-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC), is one the youngest fighters on the UFC roster. A native of Ukraine, Krylov has not been short of leaving lasting memories - good and bad, since making his UFC debut in 2013.

Joining the UFC on the back of a 15-2 record, with 2 career losses coming to Vladimir Mishchenko, Krylov made his UFC debut at heavyweight against Australia's Soa Palelei, in a bout which Kingdom MMA staff named the worst fight of 2013 with both men gassing badly, and Krylov eventually losing by TKO in the 3rd round.

Krylov returned in January, in the opening bout of UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson, to face Walter Harris, who he defeated with a highlight reel, 25-second headkick TKO. Following the bout Krylov told journalists he would be dropping to Light-heavyweight.

Krylov made his 205lb debut against Ovince St. Preux - a common opponent to Donovan, at UFC 171 however he was unsuccessful in his new weight division losing by Von Flue Choke in first round.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Dublin

UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs Miller (Fight Card)

UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs Miller
Date: July 19th, 2014
o2 Arena, Dublin, Ireland


Fight Card
Conor McGregor vs Cole Miller
Ryan LaFlare vs Gunnar Nelson
Ian McCall vs Brad Pickett
Ilir Latifi vs Tom Lawlor
Cody Donovan vs Nikita Krylov
Phil Harris vs Neil Seery

Neil Seery Meets Phil Harris at UFC Dublin

Neil Seery Meets Phil Harris at UFC Dublin
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Copyright Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Irish flyweight Neil Seery has been given a chance at revenge in front of his countrymen when he takes on the UKs Phil Harris at UFC Dublin, who beat Seery by decision at BAMMA 3.

UFC Dublin takes place July 19th at the The O2 Arena. Tickets for will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie.

Joining the UFC as a last minute replacement when he was defeated by unanimous decision by Brad Pickett at UFC fight Night London in March, Seery fights for the promotion for the first time on the back of a full training camp when he takes on Phil Harris in Dublin.

A former Cage Warrior Champion, Seery (13-10 MMA, 0-1 UFC) who earned praise for his efforts in defeat to Pickett, has put together a 6-2 record since his fight with Harris in 2010, with 4 wins inside the distance, including a devastating body kick KO over Paul Marin. A pro since 2005, the 34 year old has finishes 11 of his 13 victories inside the distance - 6 by TKO, 5 by submission.

Fighting for the 5th time under the UFC banner, Phil Harris (22-12 MMA,  1-3 UFC) returns to the promotion having been briefly released following his loss to Louis Gaurdinot at UFC Fight Night London.

A Judo black belt, Harris who fights out of Gym 01 is on a 2-4 run since he fought Seery at Bamma 3, however he has faced what could be considered a run of death since joining the UFC, facing top 15 guys including Darren Uyenoyama, John Lineker, Louis Gaurdinot, and Ulysses Gomez, the only man Harris has defeated in the UFC. Currently riding a 2 fight losing streak, it's likely Harris will need to defeat Seery to keep his UFC career alive, make the rematch even more intriguing.

Stay tuned to kingdommma.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Dublin.