Kavanagh hugs Byrne after his win. Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO

A NUMBER OF Irish MMA’s best prospects were in action last night as the 3 Arena hosted Bamma’s first ever Irish event.

In the main event, 22-year-old Frenchman Tom ‘Fire Kid’ DuQuesnoy retained his featherweight title — defeating Manchester’s Brendan Loughnane by split decision.

Tom DuQuesnoy got the better of Brendan Loughnane.

Earlier in the night, middleweight Paul Byrne, who has recently moved from Drogheda to join up with coach John Kavanagh at SBG, remained unbeaten after winning his sixth consecutive fight.  Byrne caught Conor Cooke with a ferocious head kick in the first round.

Facebook / BAMMA Facebook / BAMMA / BAMMA

There was bad news for his team-mate as Christopher Jacquelin submitted Chris Fields with a triangle in the second round.

Christopher Jacquelin is the declared the winner against Chris Fields. Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO

Elsewhere, SBG’s Sinead Kavanagh, a five-time national boxing champion, was hugely impressive as she took just 15 seconds to stop Hatice Ozyurt in her first professional bout.

Facebook / BAMMA Facebook / BAMMA / BAMMA

Ballymena’s Alan Philpott claimed a split decision win over Regis Sugden, while Limerick fighter Catherine Costigan tapped out in the first round after Celine Haga put her in an armbar.

Bamma 22 results

• Tom DuQuesnoy def Brendan Loughnane via decision (split) after 3 rounds
• Chistopher Jacquelin def Chris Fields via submission (tap out) in Round 2
• Alan Philpott def Regis Sugden via decision (split) after 3 rounds
• Celine Haga def Catherine Costigan via submission (verbal) in Round 1
• Jack McGann def Jack Grant via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
• Paul Byrne def Conor Cooke via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
• Marc Diakiese def Rick Selvarajah via KO in Round 1
• Kane Mousah def Myles Price via unanimous decision after 3 rounds 
• Sinead Kavanagh def Hatice Ozyurt via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
• Frans Mlambo def Darren O’Gorman via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
• Lukasz Parobiec def Jonathan Dargan via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
• Rhys McKee def John Redmond via submission (tap out) in Round 1
• Dylan Tuke def Adam Caffrey via submission (tap out) in Round 1
• Paul Craig def Karl Moore via submission (tap out) in Round 2
• Tim Wilde def Stephen Coll via majority decision after 3 rounds
• Mark Andrew def Sean Tobin via submission (tap out) in Round 3
• Patrick Wixted def Conor Dillon via TKO (strikes) in Round 2
• Alexandre Liete def Gerrard Gilmore via submission (tap out) in Round 2
• Keith Coady def Arnaud Dos Santos via TKO (doctor stoppage) in Round 1

World Cup preparations in the O’Connell household and more in our sporting tweets of the week

Indoor rock climbing is all the rage now and not just amongst adrenaline junkies