IRELAND HAS BEEN in the midst of a golden generation over the past two-and-half- years when it comes to mixed martial arts.
Since December 2012, eight Irish fighters have been signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA’s largest organisation.
They’ve clocked up a total of 18 wins — with just six losses — in the organisation during that period, and the finest hour will come next month when Conor McGregor challenges Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight world title.
Given how frequently fighters from these shores have been snapped up by the UFC over the past couple of years, Irish fans are beginning to wonder who’ll be next to grace the octagon.
Joseph Duffy and Paul Redmond were both signed back in January, and that was the UFC’s most recent dip into the Irish pool of talent. The supply line certainly hasn’t run dry, but it looks like our next batch of hopefuls will probably need to be patient.
A couple of months ago we ranked the 10 Irish fighters most likely to be snapped up by the UFC, but 2015 has turned out to be a tough year so far for those competing on regional circuits in the hope of attracting the UFC’s attention.
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There have been several costly defeats, and although the fighters in question are sure to bounce back into contention before long, their UFC aspirations have taken a significant hit for now.
A solid winning streak is essential when aiming to impress UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Joe Silva, but the present reality is that very few Irish fighters are on a consistent run of good wins.
Paul Redmond was the last Irish fighter signed by the UFC. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
Ballymena bantamweight Alan Philpott and Dublin middleweight Chris Fields both suffered losses earlier this year for top British organisation BAMMA, while Fields received another unfortunate blow this week when a back injury forced him to withdraw from a fight scheduled for this Saturday night in Birmingham.
Elsewhere, flyweight veteran Damien Rooney is still waiting to return to action following a defeat last November, featherweight Tommy McCafferty saw his unbeaten run brought to an end in May, and welterweights Tommy Quinn and Philip Mulpeter were also beaten last time out.
SBG lightweight Peter Queally was edged out via split decision in South Africa last weekend, while undefeated light-heavyweight Karl Moore had to pull out of a fight in Italy a fortnight ago after sustaining an injury.
Is it a case that all of Ireland’s UFC-calibre fighters have already been signed? Certainly not, because there’s enough ability in that list of names to be competitive at the highest level, with several more exciting prospects developing in the early stages of their professional careers and in the amateur ranks.
Undefeated light-heavyweight Karl Moore is one of Ireland's UFC hopefuls. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
However, recent results mean that the road to the top for the aforementioned UFC hopefuls will now be considerably longer than it was at the beginning of the year.
The man in the strongest position for that next UFC call-up now appears to be Artem Lobov. The Russian-born featherweight recently attended the tryouts for a new season of The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas.
Successful participants are sworn to secrecy when it comes to competing in TUF, but with filming for the show expected to begin later this month, we’ll soon find out if Lobov has succeeded in following in the footsteps of SBG team-mates like Cathal Pendred and Aisling Daly.
It’s possible that an Irish fighter might find their way in as a late injury replacement, of course, but if Artem Lobov’s TUF efforts come up short, we don’t expect to see a new Irish face in the UFC before the year is out.
There could be a long wait until another Irish fighter is signed by the UFC
IRELAND HAS BEEN in the midst of a golden generation over the past two-and-half- years when it comes to mixed martial arts.
Since December 2012, eight Irish fighters have been signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA’s largest organisation.
They’ve clocked up a total of 18 wins — with just six losses — in the organisation during that period, and the finest hour will come next month when Conor McGregor challenges Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight world title.
Given how frequently fighters from these shores have been snapped up by the UFC over the past couple of years, Irish fans are beginning to wonder who’ll be next to grace the octagon.
Joseph Duffy and Paul Redmond were both signed back in January, and that was the UFC’s most recent dip into the Irish pool of talent. The supply line certainly hasn’t run dry, but it looks like our next batch of hopefuls will probably need to be patient.
A couple of months ago we ranked the 10 Irish fighters most likely to be snapped up by the UFC, but 2015 has turned out to be a tough year so far for those competing on regional circuits in the hope of attracting the UFC’s attention.
There have been several costly defeats, and although the fighters in question are sure to bounce back into contention before long, their UFC aspirations have taken a significant hit for now.
A solid winning streak is essential when aiming to impress UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Joe Silva, but the present reality is that very few Irish fighters are on a consistent run of good wins.
Ballymena bantamweight Alan Philpott and Dublin middleweight Chris Fields both suffered losses earlier this year for top British organisation BAMMA, while Fields received another unfortunate blow this week when a back injury forced him to withdraw from a fight scheduled for this Saturday night in Birmingham.
Elsewhere, flyweight veteran Damien Rooney is still waiting to return to action following a defeat last November, featherweight Tommy McCafferty saw his unbeaten run brought to an end in May, and welterweights Tommy Quinn and Philip Mulpeter were also beaten last time out.
SBG lightweight Peter Queally was edged out via split decision in South Africa last weekend, while undefeated light-heavyweight Karl Moore had to pull out of a fight in Italy a fortnight ago after sustaining an injury.
Is it a case that all of Ireland’s UFC-calibre fighters have already been signed? Certainly not, because there’s enough ability in that list of names to be competitive at the highest level, with several more exciting prospects developing in the early stages of their professional careers and in the amateur ranks.
However, recent results mean that the road to the top for the aforementioned UFC hopefuls will now be considerably longer than it was at the beginning of the year.
The man in the strongest position for that next UFC call-up now appears to be Artem Lobov. The Russian-born featherweight recently attended the tryouts for a new season of The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas.
Successful participants are sworn to secrecy when it comes to competing in TUF, but with filming for the show expected to begin later this month, we’ll soon find out if Lobov has succeeded in following in the footsteps of SBG team-mates like Cathal Pendred and Aisling Daly.
It’s possible that an Irish fighter might find their way in as a late injury replacement, of course, but if Artem Lobov’s TUF efforts come up short, we don’t expect to see a new Irish face in the UFC before the year is out.
Originally published at 12.52
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