The UFC will hold its second show at The O2 in Dublin on July 19th, it was confirmed today by UFC Executive Vice President Garry Cook.

Irish MMA fans have long been clamouring for the return of the world's premier Mixed Martial Arts league since their last show in the same venue in January of 2009. MMA has been enjoying a huge surge in popularity in Ireland since the emergence of Crumlin's Conor McGregor on the world stage, evidenced by his one-sided blitzes of opponents Marcus Brimage and Max Holloway. 

McGregor, who suffered a knee injury in the second round of the Holloway fight, will surely be on the card against a top opponent and there will likely also be spots on the card for representatives of Ireland's growing MMA scene. Contenders to appear will include Cathal Pended, Chris Fields, Paul Redmond, Neil Seery, Paddy Holohan and Aisling Daly among others.

The news was confirmed minutes ago by respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

UPDATE: MMA journalist Callum Leslie is claiming that UFC is working on having Conor McGregor fight American Kickboxing Academy veteran Cole Miller in the main event. Miller has ardently campaigned to fight McGregor in recent months.