The UFC will host its first event in the Republic of Ireland in nearly five years this August. On Thursday afternoon, mixed martial arts’ premiere promotion announced its long-awaited return to the Fair City.
The UFC’s fourth trip to Dublin will take place at the 3Arena, which they last visited in October 2015, on August 15.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement of the UFC’s long-awaited return to Ireland has led to talk of Conor McGregor headlining the card.
McGregor, of course, headlined UFC Fight Night 46 in July 2014 and produced a seminal moment in the history of Irish MMA by stopping Diego Brandao in front of a sold-out crowd at what was formerly known as The O2 Arena.
‘The Notorious’ is keen to fight on home soil before it’s all said and done, and reiterated that desire during the UFC 246 post-fight press conference.
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“I’d be more than excited about that if we could do that. I’d love to compete in Ireland as well, I would love to compete in my hometown.
“How amazing would that be?”
McGregor, 31, made his long-awaited return to the Octagon last month in the main event of UFC 246, where he locked horns with Donald Cerrone in a welterweight match-up.
The former two-division champion needed only 40 seconds to pick up his first victory in over three years, which he secured with a barrage of accurately-placed strikes after hurting ‘Cowboy’ with a head kick.
Victory over Cerrone saw McGregor become the first fighter in UFC history to secure stoppage victories in the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions.
He said: “The UFC can strip fighters and give other fighters make believe belts in order to replicate my champ champ status.
“But they can’t give knockout victories across multiple weight divisions so there you go again. Etch my name in history one more time.
“For the Irish people, for my ma back home, I love you to bits Ma.”