SANDWICHED BETWEEN a weekend of live music at Longitude, I had the pleasure of covering an unforgettable night of MMA at Dublin’s O2 Arena during the summer.
As the ticket sales suggested, Conor McGregor’s success in the sport had helped bring a legion of new fans to the UFC by the time they hosted their second Irish event last July.
With a couple of hours to spare, I took a stroll along the Luas Red Line from the IFSC to the Point Depot, where the number of Dethrone t-shirts and UFC hoodies was noticeable.
Eager to get seated early, security pointed me in the direction of the media area — conveniently located just feet from the Octagon.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
With five wins from five (six if you count Gunnar Nelson), it was a clean sweep for the Irish fighters on show. McGregor was the main event and the man 9,500 people (including world champion Katie Taylor, who was sat in the front row) had come to see but Cathal Pendred’s remarkable comeback against Mike King is the bout I remember most fondly.
Wearing a matching black eye and suit, the Dubliner shared a touching moment with his family right in front of us after his debut win.
After spending months talking up his title credentials up, The Notorious came out to sound of his namesake’s hit Hypnotize and delivered a flawless performance to end the co-main event in just over four minutes.
“We’re not here just to take part – we’re here to take over!” McGregor proclaimed afterwards. With talk that a title shot in an outdoor Dublin arena is on the cards, you wouldn’t bet against him doing just that.
Jaysus I’d love if we battered them
95 seems like a million years ago.
Saw Gaz Coombes the former singer of Supergrass on Saturday Kitchen this morning and to my relief he didn’t seem to have dementia or a walking stick. Ah yes glorious summer weather of 95 with ‘Alright’ all over the radio.
That’s still a fantastic song to