The UFC is finally returning to Ireland on Aug. 15.
It’s been almost five years since the UFC last visited Dublin, home of arguably the most passionate and loud mixed martial arts crowd.
There have been three events in Dublin so far, but one in particular stood out, when a young Irishman by the name of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] was on the verge of superstardom.
McGregor headlined his first UFC event when he took on dangerous Brazilian Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 in 2014, and he had one of the most memorable walkouts in UFC history, when he made his way to the cage in front of his home fans, a sold-out 3Arena, known then as The O2. McGregor took out Brandao in the first round, kickstarting his reign over the featherweight division.
[lawrence-related id=488650,486985]
McGregor would go on to capture the UFC featherweight title with a 13-second knockout over Jose Aldo, move up in weight to claim another UFC title at lightweight with a flawless performance against Eddie Alvarez, and even compete in a boxing match against one of the greatest boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather.
He is hands down the biggest superstar in the history of the sport, as well as the biggest draw. While that could be the one and only time McGregor gets to make the walk in Ireland, it sure was a memorable one.
His team SBG Ireland went 4-0 on the night, with teammates Paddy Holohan, Cathal Pendred and Gunnar Nelson all picking up finishes, as well.
With the UFC recently announcing it’s return to the Irish capital, relive Conor McGregor’s chilling walkout in Dublin in the video below.
August 15th, 2020, the UFC officially returns to Dublin 🇮🇪
The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric, but @TheNotoriousMMA's walkout in 2014 will take some beating 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LI9ZfcGfd7
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) February 13, 2020
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
[vertical-gallery id=390041]