WITH THE IRISH presence in the UFC increasing swiftly, fans will be curious to see who’ll be the ninth fighter from these shores to be snapped up by MMA’s largest organisation. There are some important bouts on the horizon for Ireland’s UFC hopefuls. Here’s the pick of the bunch…
Conor Cooke vs. Andy De-Vent — Saturday, 28 March (BAMMA 19, Blackpool, England)
The British middleweight title of prominent UK promotion BAMMA will be on the line when Antrim striker Conor Cooke takes on experienced Englishman Andy De-Vent. Cooke has found it difficult to put a consistent run of victories together since turning professional, but coming into this bout on the back of a career-best win over the highly-rated Lee Chadwick, perhaps Cooke is now ready to make a sustained push for the top.
Peter Queally vs. Martin van Staden — Saturday, 4 April (EFC 38, Durban, South Africa)
A member of SBG Ireland, Peter Queally is a Waterford native who’s aiming to find a way into the UFC via South African promotion EFC. Queally, who’s spoken of highly by team-mates like Chris Fields and Cathal Pendred, was the first non-African fighter signed by EFC and emerged victorious from his debut back in November. A win against van Staden will earn Queally a welterweight title shot and leave his record looking healthy at 6-1, but having gone the distance in all of his bouts so far, he’s eager for a stoppage this time.
Tommy McCafferty vs. Artem Lobov — Saturday, 2 May (UXC Fight Night 3, Portglenone, Antrim)
Conor McGregor is obviously Ireland’s top featherweight, but these two are next in line and they’ll meet on the first weekend in May. SBG’s Lobov, a regular sparring partner of McGregor’s, has beaten more of Europe’s top-ranked featherweights than any other non-UFC fighter, but he’s got a mixed record overall which has so far kept the UFC at bay. But a win against someone like the undefeated McCafferty could change that. McCafferty is a former world kickboxing champion and has been tipped for a successful career in MMA, but Lobov will undoubtedly be his biggest test yet.
Tommy Quinn vs. Lewis Long — Saturday, 23 May (MT4C XVII, Sunderland, England)
Derry welterweight Tommy Quinn has the ability to progress but has been hampered by inactivity. His only loss came via decision against top English fighter Jack Mason, and he holds notable wins over the likes of Dan Hope and fellow Irishman Philip Mulpeter. Defeating in-form Welshman Lewis Long won’t be easy, but if Quinn can manage it and put a regular streak of victories together, he has the potential to ascend the rankings.
Also, news of a big fight in the UK is expected shortly for Ballymena bantamweight Alan Philpott, who’s certainly one to watch. With a 13-6 record and a three-fight winning streak, another couple of wins could put Philpott on the UFC’s radar. He recently signed to BAMMA and will be looking to make an impact in a 135lbs division that includes fellow prospects like Ed Arthur, Mike Wootten and Gaz Pilot.
Originally published at 14.56
And if he hadn’t tried to amalgamate the middle eastern countries to take control if it’s oil reserves by trading it in denar instead of dollars, he may well still be alive. Great to see Libya thriving today though under western democracy
@domas1507: I must add though that the counter argument would be that if we hadn’t delivered “democracy” then we would have lost control of a vital resource and we would possibly be the countries in turmoil. So it all depends on how you like you bread buttered I suppose
@domas1507: yeah, but more importantly, who won the match?
@Conoroconnor: Watch it tonight… Exclusively on RTE
@Gary Donlan: indeed I will. I have it set to record.
@Conoroconnor: ended 1-1
@domas1507: spoiler alert ffs!
The gas thing here is that Hughey made his close friend Larry Goodman a rich man because of sending beef to Libya. The same fella today has a monopoly on Irish beef factories because he holds the only offal license in the country. He uses this to keep the price of beef paid to farmers low.
Also look up the beef tribunal and how Haughey bailed out Goodman after the US invaded Iraq and Goodman went bankrupt.
Farmer gets €1200 for his product, he keeps them for 30 months. The factory and the supermarket get €1500 in profits for a few days work.
Each animal is worth about €2700 when sold to the consumer.
@great gael of Eire:Didnt know Hughey was friends with Larry Goodman. I’ve never seen him drinking in mccoys
@Peter Govan: Very good. Haha
Poor Gaddafi. Iti was probably the BSE beef that did it.