John Ó'Ríordáns Blog

Jump to 4 minutes and 20 seconds for the info on the UFC’s return to Ireland.

I found out today that Chuck Liddell is coming to Cork on July 20th. He’s coming to the Boxing Clinic up by the airport. Check out their Facebook page here.

I just ran up to them there and threw down my €60. I was shocked to hear he was coming here. Cork isn’t exactly a hub of MMA. I wonder why he’s coming. Maybe he’s here on his Holidays. He does have some Irish in him. Nice to see he’s visiting the old country.

Still what an opportunity. I’ve only been training MMA for a few months but I hope to pick up a lot from him.

The UFC is coming back to Ireland. I want to start the ball rolling for a Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy rematch. I’m definitely going to go anyway. My first Live UFC!

From  MMAJunkie.com

“During a Wednesday press conference for this weekend’s “UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy” event, UFC president Dana White told the gathered crowd that the promotion would return to Ireland before the end of the year.

“We’re going back to Dublin this year for sure,” White said.

White didn’t offer any further specifics on the promotion’s plans for an Irish show.

The UFC has visited the Republic of Ireland just once before. In January 2009, the promotion visited The O2 in Dublin where 9,369 boisterous fans turned out for UFC 93, a card that featured a Dan Henderson split-decision win over Rich Franklin in the evening’s main event.

The night was also marked by a pair of “Fight of the Night” awards as Marcus Davis’ win over Chris Lytle and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s third-round stoppage of Mark Coleman were each awarded with a bonus.

I was at MMA training this morning at 12. I’d say it was my first time training on a Saturday since I was 16. Great craic though.

I was reading this great article explaining why people enjoy fighting so much. Maybe that’s why I don’t mind making the effort.

Was at MMA today and some dude kicked me with his instep right on the elbow. My elbow is okay, a little sore, but his foot looks like someone hid a golf ball in it. Plus there is a nice elbow shaped cut on it. Ouch!

Wandy had a good win against the Brit over the weekend. He played a very smart, conservative game. Not quite as explosive as in the past but much smarter. He was very happy with the win, and even shed a tear during the interview. Legend. Here is the last few moments of the fight. He very nearly forgot that he wasn’t in Pride and went to kick Bisping in the face while he was on the ground.

I found this brilliant tribute to MMA on YouTube today. Some great clips from the UFC with Marilyn Manson in the background.

It was confirmed to day that Mark “The Hammer” Coleman is being cut by the UFC. To be fair it probably is time he hung up the gloves. And what better way to go out after a loss than in the main event of a UFC. Here is a weird Japanese commercial with him and my favourite fighter Wanderlei Silva.