The eyes of the worldwide mixed martial arts community are focused squarely on Dublin tonight as Conor McGregor will face Brazil's Diego Brandao in the main event of UFC Fight Night Dublin. Entertainment.ie are cageside and we'll be liveblogging all of the action from tonight's ten fights in The O2 on what will be the biggest night in Irish MMA history.
See below for the liveblog. The fights begin at 5.30pm and the main card from 8pm and they can be viewed on 3e at 8pm or on www.UFCFightPass.com
Paddy Holohan vs Josh Sampo (Flyweight)
Round One:
Holohan trades early. Ole chants have started already! Holohan throwing a lot of feints and controlling the centre of the cage. Walks into and overhand right form Sampo. Huge uppercut from Holohan floors Sampo! He enters Sampo’s half guard with over three minutes remaining. Holohan attempting pass is leg left through the guard, fights off an armbar attempt and takes Sampo’s back looking for a rear naked choke and Sampo taps!
Holohan celebrates with an Irish flag to the choruses of Ole, Ole, Ole!
Winner Paddy Holohan via Rear Naked Choke (3:06 of round one)
Cody Donovan vs Nikita Krylov (Light Heavyweight)
Round One:
Fighters touch gloves at the start of the round. Krylov very aggressive and rushes forward with punches. The fight goes the ground and Donovan threatens with an armbar attempt. Krylov ends up on top but Donovan gets up and throws knees in the clinch. Two minutes gone. Takedown for Donovan but both fighters get up. This is turning into a clinch fight. Accidental low blow from Krylov and the crowd responds with boos. Referees steps in and Donovan given up to five minutes to recover. Fight restarts with more clinch work. Krylov getting the better of the exchanges. Donovan drops Krylov out of nowhere and works from half guard. 75 seconds remain in the round. Donovan works on the ground and sinks in a read naked choke but Krylov fights it off and turns his position ion to Donovan’s guard. Both fighters starting to slow down. Krylov threatens with his own rear naked choke but abandons in favour of ground ‘n pound.
The referee stops the fight with just three seconds remaining in the first round.
Winner: Nikita Krylov via TKO at 4:57 of Round One
Tor Troeng vs Trevor Smith (Middleweight)
Round One:
Tentative start. Troeng advances with and presses Smith against the cage, throwing knees. They break with 3:30 left. Tor advances to the clinch against the cage with double underhooks. Smith defends with knees. Wild overhand from Smith. Tor appears the sharper fighter. He catches a kick and takes Smith down. 90 seconds remain in the round. Tor rises and presses his opponent againsy the cage again. Smith responds with knees before the round ends.
Round Two:
Troeng gets Smith to the ground after 20 seconds and looks to pass guard. Into mount a few seconds later. This is his world. Smith does well to recover and ends up in side control and started raining down left hands. Troeng re-establishes full guard but Smith works well and shows his strength on top. Slow pace but Smith is getting the best of this round so far with two minutes left. TOr gets to his feet against the cage but is met with a knee to the gut. Take down for Troneg but Smith counters with a guillotine choke. Looks deep but Tor appears to be okay as the round ends.
Round Three:
Both fighters pretty tired as we see the first third round of the evening. This fight has turned into a grappling battle with both fighters having moments of dominance. Smith on top of Tor, who is angled against the cage as Smith attempts to pass his guard. Smith attempting a D’arce choke but doesn’t seem to have the right angle and releases it. 30 seconds left and this is surely Smith’s round. The bell sounds for the end of the round.
Trevor Smith defeats Tor Troeng by Unanimous Decision (29-28)
Cathal Pendred vs Mike King (Middleweight)
Round One:
Ole, ole, ole! The chants have begun before the fight has starte. We’re off. King with an immediate takedown. Pendred up. King presses him against the cage. The fighters separate. King’s looking good early. A scramble and Pendred takes kings back and drags him to the ground. This is energy sapping stuff. The crowd demand a knee. Huge shot from King drops Pendred. He is very dazed. King takes mount. Two minutes left. Rear naked choke. Its’s deep. King abandons in favour of ground ‘n pound. Armbar attempt. One minute left. Pendred is free and but is very tired. The round ends. Huge round for Mike King.
Round Two:
Pendred has hit feet under him against and is striking first. The crowd is cheering everything Pendred throws. King still on the front foot and is walking Pendred down. Pendred doing well though. Takedown attempt from Pendred. Massive lift and he completes the takedown. King recovers well and grabs a single on Pendred. Three minutes left. They’re trading shots in the centre midway through the second round. Pendred does for the takedown and completes it .King turns his back while Pendred looks for a rear naked choke. He might have this! He does! King is unconscious! MASSIVE WIN FOR CATHAL PENDRED! COMEBACK OF THE YEAR!
Winner Cathal Pendred via Rear Naked Choke (3:33 of Round Two)
Neil Seery vs Phil Harris (Flyweight)
Round One:
Can the Irish fighters make it three from three? Seery looking calm and fights off a Harris takedown. Harris wants no part of Seery’s boxing. Harris fakes a punch and looks for a takedown, again fought off by Seery. Seery might be a bit hesitant on the feet, afraid of being taken down. HUGE punch drops Harris. Seery lets him up and presses forward again. Seery is streets ahead on the feet and wining every exchange. Seery again fights off a takedown attempt and clock Harris with a massive left hook. Harris pulls guard but Seery gets up and beckons his opponent up. Seery looking excellent. This is some of the best pure boxing that the UFC flyweight division has to offer. First round ends and it’s a 10-9 for Seery unless the judges weren’t paying attention.
Round Two:
We’re off. Seery begins as he ended, walking his opponent down. Harris attempts a guard pull, followed by armbar but Seery is too wily. Harris is coming off second best in every exchange. Having said that, he just connects with a good hook. Harris gets a takedown against the cage but Seery turns him and gets back to his feet. Decent uppercut from Harris is followed by a massive Seery overhand right. The crowd ROAR with every blow Seery lands – he has massive power in his right hand. Strong left connects for Harris but Seery counters and floors him. Seery lands a few kicks to his opponents legs and lets him up. Seery advances and gets a takedown of his own as the round ends. Two rounds up, is our Neil.
Round Three:
Harris lands a low blow on Seery to start the round to the boos of the audience. Seery is given time to recover from the referee and indicates he’s ready to continue. Box fighters still light on their feet. Not much happening so far in this round as we reach the halfway point. Seery connects and wobbles Harris just as I type that. Harris is still in this fight though but likely needs a finish at this point to win. Seery connects with another crisp combo, though he does have a cut above his right eye. Harris fails a takedown and Seery makes him pay with yet another clean strike. Harris is wobbled! The crowd sense a finish! Seery dives into Harris’ guard with a right hand but the round ends. Easy win for Dublin’s Neil Seery.
Winner: Neil Seery via Unanimous Decision (30-27)
Ilir Latifi vs Chris Dempsey (Light Heavyweight)
Sweden’s Latifi looks huge! Both fighters trade shots in the centre of the cage, nothing of note connecting so far. Big right hook to the body from Latifi connects though. Big leg kick after that. Latifi drops Dempsey with a huge shot and follows up with another on the ground. Dempsey is done. The referee steps in and Latifi attempts a half-assed somersault in celebration. That’s what adrenalin will do to you!
Winner: Ilir Latifi via TKO (2:07)
Norman Parke vs Naoyuki Kotani (Lightweight)
Round One:
Kotani shoots for a takedown in the first ten seconds but it’s brushed off by the Northern Irishman. Tentative start on the feet. Parke misses a headkick and lands a jab to the thigh. Another takedown attempt from Kotani, again stuffed by Parke. You feel Kotani’s only realistic method of victory would be if he can complete one of these takedowns and sink in a submission. No such luck yet though. Halfway through the round and neither fighter has landed anything of note…until Parke lands a big knee right down the pipe. “Let’s go Norman!” chants break out in the arena. A minute remains. A failed takedown by the Japanese lands him in trouble as Parke lands some good elbows from the top and opens a big cut on Kotani as the bell goes. Parke’s round.
Round Two:
Parke is the aggressor as the round opens. Kotani is still reaching for takedowns but nothing sticking. Parke’s seizes momentum with a big throw and lands in side control. Expect elbows, Naoyuki. Yep, there they are. Parke still in side control and is definitely the stronger fighter. Kotani is still crafty though, don’t forget he’s won 13 straight fights – and threatens with a leg log but Norman shakes it off. Norman wrestles his opponent to the mat again with 90 seconds left in the round and unleashes some ground and pound until the referee stops it.
Winner: Norman Parke via TKO
Brad Pickett vs Ian McCall (Flyweight)
Round One:
This should be good. Feeling out process starts the fight with both fighters landing their share of glancing blows. Pickett pushes McCall against the cage and inadvertently lands a low blow. McCall given time to recover. It begins again and both fighters are clearly respecting each other’s strengths, box have clean boxing and great movement – McCall has a more diverse kicking game though. Pickett rushes in with a punch but McCall avoids easily. The speed of these flyweights is unbelievable. Great right to the body from Pickett. These guys are winging punches now with 30 seconds left in the round. Very close round but Ian McCall might have edged it.
Round Two:
A Mexican wave at a UFC event. That’s a first. Anyway, the second round is off and McCall gets an early takedown but it doesn’t last for long. Pickett down again though and McCall is in full mount. Pickett recovers half guard and uses a whizzer to get back to his feet. Pickett the aggressor now, he knows he needs to land something of note after that takedown. Pickett just missed a huge right and McCall goes for another takedown. Big kick from Ian but Pickett retaliates with a hook as McCall has his back to the cage. We’ve paused the action for another low blow, this time Pickett on the receiving end. We’re back underway with just over a minute left. Both land a few more. Another close round.
Round Three:
This round could decide everything. Pickett has a look of urgency about him and is controlling the tempo of the fight right now. McCall landing shots from the outside as he backs away, keeping the Englishman honest. McCall has his back against the cage now, with Pickett looking to take him to the ground. No such luck. A few shots landed from Brad there though. McCall still staying on the outside, leaping in with shots and – just now – an elbow. Takedown Ian McCall. This isn’t good for Pickett one little bit as he ends up in full mount with a minute left in the fight. Pickett recovers to half guard but it is immaterial at this point. McCall lands shots on the ground on Pickett, who’s tiring. Ten seconds left and Pickett gets to his feet and lands a shot as the buzzer sounds.
Winner: Ian McCall via Unanimous Decision
Gunnar Nelson vs Zak Cummings (Welterweight)
Round One:
We’re off. Gunnar starts off in his usual karate style stance. The ole, ole, ole chants have begun – Gunni is a real favourite here due to training in Dublin with Conor McGregor. Cummings grabs a clinch but Nelson exhibits incredible balance to stay on his feet and breaks. Nelson is keeping his cool, not over-committing. Cummings catches a kick to the midsection and responds with a left which clips the Icelander. Big punch from Zak briefly has Nelson off balance. Nelson is clear and back is picking his shots against the US fighter. Nelson’s hands are quite low – a dangerous game to play but we assume he knows what he’s doing. Cummings presses Nelson against the cage and lands a few shots as the round winds down to a close. Close round, could go either way.
Round Two:
Cummings lands another shot at the start, capitalising on Nelson waiting for something to happen with his back against the cage. Nelson hasn’t offered much yet this round except for a nice straight right just now. Nelson land a big right and the crowd erupts. Cummings retaliates with a punch/kick combo with 90 seconds remaining. Another right from Nelson who is beginning to find his range. Big knee too! NElsonj gets him down and takes his back. Rear naked choke attempt! Cummings defends. Thirty seconds left and Cummings taps with eight seconds left in the round!
Winner: Gunnar Nelson by Rear Naked Choke.
Connor McGregor vs Diego Brandao (Featherweight)
Round One:
We’ve never heard an atmosphere like this one. Ever. Conor touches gloves and kits a spinning kick. Brandao very aggressive. The Brazilian shoots for a takedown and now they clinch against the cage. Brandao tries to take McGregor down but is reversed. Full guard nut McGregor rises out of it. Heel hook attempt from the Brazilian is brushed off. McGregor has hit opponent stacked against the cage. Half guard, McGregor rains down elbows. All Conor so far. Back on their feet, McGregor outstriking Brandao and drop shim to his knees with a spinning kick. Brandao is up but noticeably slower. Brandao is retreating against the cage, McGregor pushes forward with two strikes and Brandao is down! This is over! Emphatic win for Conor McGregor.
Winner: Conor McGregor by TKO (4:10)
