The Craic with Petesy Carroll

Fight Academy Ireland head coach Liam Shannon gives insight into Paul Hughes’ preparation for his Bellator/PFL debut, sheds light on the current wave of talent at the Belfast gym and considers whether PFL and Bellator have shed the label of being the “SBG Show” with the signing of Hughes. Shannon also talks Rhys McKee’s next move, Paddy McCorry on the latest season of TUF and the great expectations he has for Hughes against Bobby King and much more. Petesy describes his trip to Belfast, his first chat with McCorry and a big catch up with Ryan Curtis.

Considered the hottest free agent in the sport during his time on the market, Paul Hughes is set to make his Bellator/PFL debut on Saturday at 3 Arena against Bobby King. Petesy interviewed Hughes at Fight Academy Ireland in Belfast where the former Cage Warriors Champion discussed how much his new contract can change his life, his time training with Michael Chandler, being unfollowed by Conor McGregor and his aspirations with PFL Bellator.

The latest word surrounding Conor McGregor’s camp is that the Irish superstar is not likely to make an appearance at UFC 303. Donagh Corby joins Petesy from Connecticut to give his take on the on again/off again conversation surrounding McGregor’s meeting with Michael Chandler, what the legacy of this period will be for McGregor should he not fight on June 29th, possible replacements fights and how the UFC will react if he does withdraw. Donagh also provides a stellar preview of the PFL card this weekend which stars the likes of Linton Vassell, Dakota Ditcheva and Taila Santos.

Chisanga Malata is back on The Craic to discuss the slew of anguish amongst UFC fans due to the price of UFC Manchester tickets. The lads react to the online onslaught of fans after tickets were released last week, give their thoughts on the budding bromance between Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall and shed light on how Chisanga didn’t end up in Dublin last week after the cancellation of the UFC 303 press conference.

A globetrotting Petesy greets us in the after tremors of UFC 302 and Ariel Helwani Live to share stories of his wild week in Brick City, with a little help from the great “New York” Eric Jackman, of The MMA Hour fame. Petesy takes us through his journey to the Vox studios, to splitting the G with Frank and GC at the Dead Rabbit, his time at the UFC 302 press conference, his visit to the Helwani abode and Friday’s Live show and after party. He also gives us his take on UFC 302, the live UFC experience and his trek home to attend the UFC 303 press conference in Dublin.

UFC bantamweight and former Cage Warriors champion Caolan Loughran returns to the Craic on the back of collecting his first promotional win at Atlantic City and on the back of his UFC Manchester clash against Ramon Tavares being announced. Loughran discusses the atmosphere among the Irish for his win over Angel Pacheco, being live on the scene as Paul Hughes reacted to Ray Sefo letting the cat out of the bag about his PFL signing, the impact of McGregor’s return and the Irish contingent at UFC Manchester.

The Trident of Knowledge - Petesy Carroll, Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson - formed to breakdown a massive week of news. After teasing the news for a week on The Craic, Petesy and the lads discuss the announced UFC 303 press conference in Dublin on June 3rd where Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will face off at 3 Arena. The Trident also weigh-in on the video of McGregor partying over the weekend and give their thoughts on whether it is concerning given that his meeting with Chandler is just five weeks away.

Severe MMA and The Auld Triangle reporter Andy Stevenson returns to The Craic to discuss Conor McGregor’s latest interview with The Mac Life.Do Petesy and Andy believe that McGregor will re-sign with the UFC to fight three times in 2024, and fight Nate Diaz in their trilogy fight at The Sphere. Following his early report on Tuesday’s episode, Petesy sheds more light on the “special announcement” that was teased during The Mac Life interview with Oscar Willis.

There are an abundance of Irish UFC fighters booked for action in close proximity between UFC 303 and 304. The last time this happened in the Summer of ’23, there was genuine conversations within UFC HQ about a UFC Dublin event, so could we rekindle hopes of UFC marquee in the Irish capital should we bank a few wins? As far as Petesy has heard, even without Ian Machado Garry and MVP happening at UFC 304, there will be AT LEAST three Irish fighters booked for action on that card. Caolan Loughran and Shauna Bannon are already set for action, and there should be one more fight confirmed in the coming weeks for the Irish. Petesy gives his take on the back and forth between Garry and MVP, shares his thoughts on a busy weekend of fights and discusses the heavyweight undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk from Saudi Arabia.

Petesy is joined Bloody Elbow reporter and the host of Wanna Fight About It, Donagh Corby, from Paris where is on site covering the Bellator Champion Series event that will se Cedric Doumbé look to avenge his first career loss. Petesy and Donagh also discuss Ian Machado Garry and MVP, Garry wanting to compete at UFC 303 and MVP seemingly wanting the fight to take place at UFC 304, and the Irish charges Shauna Bannon and Caolan Loughran competing at UFC Manchester. Petesy also provides an update on the Co-op Live arena, which is scheduled to host UFC Manchester, following its official opening on Tuesday.

After all of my belly-aching about the issues with the venue that is scheduled to host UFC Manchester, The Co-op Live is now set for it’s official launch on Tuesday May 14th. Chisanga Malata of Sun Sport joins the show to discuss all the concerns surrounding the venue, whether UFC have a contingency plan if things continue to go badly for the arena and Manchester’s own Lerone Murphy who headlines a UFC Apex event against Edson Barbosa this weekend.

The U.S. start times for July 27’s UFC Manchester card should be the least of fans’ worries as the Co-op Live venue, the arena that is set to host the event, has been embroiled in a “fiasco” which has seen multiple high-profile concert cancelled. Petesy gives a timeline of what has happened with the arena, from gigs being cancelled as fans stand in line to gain admission, to air conditioning units falling from the rafter and the general manager of the project stepping down from his role. As well as the UFC Manchester talk, Petesy looks back on a rough night in Rio for European fan favourites and discusses his shoutouts from Ariel Helwani, Dan Hardy and Paul Hughes on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

Did UFC pack 299 and 300 with Brazilian stars to the point that they couldn’t possibly deliver a massive card in Rio this weekend for UFC 301? How much would Alex Pereira’s presence help the card and is Ian Machado Garry being embraced by the Brazilian people? “The Brazilian Beast,” also known as legendary MMA Fighting journalist Guilherme Cruz joins The Craic to give us a view from the ground from The City God. He explains how some promotions have been running in Rio to help put asses in seats, how he sees the event as a potential changing of the guard for the “King of Rio” moniker from Jose Aldo to Alexandre Pantoja and his great fear of interviewing Paul Craig.

Paul “The Big News” Hughes returns to The Craic to reveal his dance partner for his PFL/Bellator debut, which will take place on June 22 at Dublin’s 3 Arena, the Irishman’s first appearance at the celebrated arena. Hughes discusses how it felt when the news of his signing was dropped in the middle of the night during the post-fight press conference for PFL’s recent Chicago event, how the deal he struck with PFL can change his life and why, despite being offered a contract with the UFC, he chose to go a different path. The Fight Academy Ireland prospect also teases his PFL manifesto which he plans to reveal in the aftermath of his debut outing on June. 22.

The booking of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at Cowboy Stadium has coveted more outrage than any of Paul’s previous boxing adventures. Yet, the co-main event of the marquee belongs to Ireland’s beacon of sporting success, Katie Taylor, and her 2022 Madison Square Garden counterpart, Amanda Serrano. One of boxing journalism’s finest, Gavan Casey of the42.ie, returns to The Craic to discuss the bizarre dichotomy of a pure sporting clash between Taylor and Serrano and what many see as a freakshow in Tyson vs. Paul. Casey gives his take on the highly controversial booking, and despite his own disinterest in the contest, concedes that it is a massive opportunity and payday for Taylor and Serrano. He also gives his take on the optics of Taylor and Serrano playing chief support to Paul and Tyson and weighs in on Sean McComb being the target of a blatant robbery following his contest Arnold Barboza Jr. last week.

PFL flexed their financial muscle with the signing of Paul Hughes over the weekend, but will the UFC continue to allow top their talent like the Irishman, Cedric Doumbé and reportedly Salahdine Parnasse slip through their fingers? The Trident of Knowledge - featuring Severe MMA’s Andy Stevenson and Bloody Elbow’s Donagh Corby - forms to the discuss all of the permutations to PFL’s capture of Hughes including how successful he will be when he joins the tournament in 2025 and when we will likely see him debut. Petesy also gives his thoughts on making Dana White’s latest media hit post. Check out Andy Stevenson on “The Auld Triangle” with Ian O’Neill and Caoilte de Barra here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7EOp09CEbauigbtPVvUx7Y?si=704b1600a7bd43d8 Check out Donagh Corby’s all new "Wanna Fight About It?” podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SfrCrjisX2k2H9eEa3hCv?si=4271338aaff54588

SunSport journalist Chisanga Malata and Petesy have been discussing a potential UFC Manchester event since December on The Craic, but the event is yet to be confirmed. With Tom Aspinall present at UFC 300, and Chisanga on site at the event reporting, it felt like it was an open goal to announce the date that has been rumoured for the all-new Co-op Live arena. Chisanga and Petesy discuss what the holdup has been, if they’re still confident Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall will be on the card, the emerging storyline between Aspinall and Alex Pereira and Bobby Green declaring interest in a clash with Paddy Pimblett.

Petesy is joined by U.K. correspondent for The Craic, the legendary Sun Sport journalist, Chisanga Malata, to discuss his experience at UFC 300, that Max Holloway finish and the muted Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler announcement. With both lads hearing that McGregor had signed for the bout during the week, they were surprised - given the ample opportunities throughout the massive fight week - that the Irishman’s return was announced in such a quiet fashion by Dana White at the post-fight press conference. Is this evidence that UFC no longer want to give “The Notorious” special treatment, and is it a sign of things to come between the organisation and its biggest star as he approaches the end of his current deal?

Following a drama-filled weekend for Petesy at Cage Warriors 170, the promotion’s president Graham Boylan reached out and the situation is now resolved. Petesy shares the timeline of events which led to the mending of the relationship, which will see him happily continue to cover the European organisation in the future. After that, the Trident of Knowledge forms, with Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson returning to the show discuss free agent Paul Hughes’ courting offers from multiple major promotions in his first days as a free agent and also the free agency statuses of KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse and Invicta champion, Danni McCormack.

Petesy recaps a weekend where he was banned from Cage Warriors 170, became the subject of a baffling “gag”, jousted for his event credential and ultimately witnessed a fantastic night for Irish MMA. Petesy recaps his online and in-person interactions with Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan and speaks to newly crowned welterweight champion James Sheehan, the hottest free agent in the sport Paul Hughes, former Cage Warriors champions Neil Seery and Joe McColgan, and FAI coaches Liam Shannon and Pat McAlister.

Aside from Paul Hughes’ looming free agency, one of the main talking points going into Cage Warriors 170 is Team Ryano vying for a Cage Warriors title for the first time since 2013, when the legendary Neil Seery clinched flyweight gold. Speaking to Andy Ryan, Petesy discusses the golden era of the sport which occurred around the same time while the infamous Team Ryan boss underlines why he believes the scene has become divided since then. Ryan, one of the founding fathers of the Irish sport, outlines the promise of his latest batch of talent and details why he believes James Sheehan will be ready for the UFC if he secures the Cage Warriors welterweight title at Dublin’s RDS. Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Chris Fields, also fixes his mind back to the 2013 event. As well as that, the Irish fan favourite acknowledges that his Team KF charges are building back to title contention while also asserting his belief that Irish MMA’s best chance of producing another golden generation will come from all gyms competing against each other, something that hasn’t happened regularly since the early BAMMA events in the country.

Paul Hughes not being signed by the UFC has been one of the great mysteries on the European scene for the past number of years.Ahead of his first round knockout of Jan Quaeyhaegens at Cage Warriors 161, Hughes revealed that he had turned down a short notice debut with the promotion and an opportunity to compete on TUF due to injury.Now, before he headlines Cage Warriors 170 in Dublin this Saturday, Hughes reveals his showdown with short notice replacement with Edgar Escarrega will be the last on his Cage Warriors deal and he fully intends to explore all offers that will be put to him. Hughes discusses the excitement he has going into free agency, how he’d be interested in being Ireland’s answer to Cedric Doumbé, how he feels about the UFC and his experiences with Cage Warriors.

Former Cage Warriors champions Caolan Loughran and Rhys McKee join The Craic ahead of must-win fights at UFC Atlantic City. Rhys McKee discusses being away from his new-born daughter for the first time, why he is particularly excited about fighting Chidi Njokuani and how this camp feels different to he previous ones. Caolan discusses the influx of supporters he expects in Atlantic City, including a GAA team and many more from Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco.

On The Craic, we’ve previously heard about what Ilia Topuria means to Spanish MMA and the broader Hispanic MMA community, but we have never got the perspective from his true homeland, Georgia. Today, Petesy is joined by celebrated Georgian mixed-martial-arts journalist, Giorgi Kokiashvili of Setanta Sports, to discuss how the sport has exploded in the small nation, which has a population of just 3.7 million people. Giorgi takes us behind the scenes of his viral social media posts showing people up in the early hours to celebrate Ilia Topuria’s title capture over Alexander Volkanovski. He also gives insight into Ilia’s homecoming, where 5000 people welcomed him home at the national airport and over 51,000 soccer fans lauded him at a recent home game against Luxembourg. Too add to that, Giorgi answered Petesy’ prying questions about how Georgian people feel about Ilia’s association with Spain and, who is beloved more, Ilia or bantamweight number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili?

Another road edition of The Craic saw Petesy pull a 19-hour shift, part of which he was joined by Donagh Corby as they embarked on a trip up north for Bellator Belfast.Petesy speaks to the legendary Dan Hardy, number one contender to Johnny Eblen's middleweight crown Fabian Edwards, Irish boxing royalty Mick Conlan and the Score's Nick Baldwin. He recaps all the thrills and spills from the event with his trusty D15 confidant Corby, including Corey Anderson's title capture after claiming victory over Belfast native, Karl Moore.

Former Cage Warriors lightweight champion and a legend of the Irish scene, Joe McColgan joins the The Craic for the very first time to take a look back at his career and to underline the lack of regret he has in terms of not making it to the UFC. A Belfast native, McColgan highlights his surprise that the upcoming Bellator card has not generated much buzz in the city and also sheds light on the impact Ryan Curtis has had on the gym as a training partner and a motivator as he battles the toughest test of his life.

The Trident of Knowledge form with Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson returning to The Craic to discuss Omran Chabaan of Team KF and Paddy McCorry of FAI being announced as cast members for the upcoming season of TUF, which begins filming in a little over a week’s time. The trio shed light on the fighters careers up until this point, consider whether Alex Grasso or Valentina Shevchenko’s team would be better to join, discuss the dying throes of the TUF concept and also look at the inclusion of Cage Warriors bantamweight prospect, Nathan Fletcher, who fights out of the acclaimed Next Generation gym in Liverpool, home of Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.

Michael Venom Page had a perfect introduction to his new promotion at UFC 299. From his spectacular homage to the Undertaker in his entrance, to his signature showboating in the Octagon and his unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland, it went about as well as it could. However, in the post-fight press conference, Dana White underlined that he wasn’t a fan of his ringwalk and disclosed that he must “match-make the right way” for his next clash. The great Chisanga Malata of SunSport returns to give his take on the Londoner’s big debut and on the verbal agreement between interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes verbally agreeing to a rematch, which would likely take place on the rumoured UFC Manchester card in late July.

The stoppage in the main event of PFL Paris may have been the least interesting thing Petesy experienced on his trip to the City of Light. Petesy gives his take on the passion of the fan base, the (wild) enthusiasm of the media and explains why he feels MMA has gone mainstream in France in a way that it never did in the U.K. and Ireland. He also explains why Paris to PFL is on a much bigger scales than Bellator’s celebrated Dublin shows. Obviously, the event finished in disappointing fashion with Marc Goddard waving off the main event in the third round after Cedric Doumbé gestured to his foot on two occasions. Petesy spoke to the legend, Dan Hardy, about the stoppage, about what’s happening in Paris and so much more.

Cedric Doumbé’s debut for PFL in Paris last year was one of the great moments of 2023. In his first showcase since, the kickboxing champion looks to remain undefeated when he clashes with an opponent from his old stomping ground, MMA Factory, who also represents the toughest test of his MMA carer to date, the undefeated Baysangur “Baki” Chamsoudinov. The great Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie returns to shed light on the French scene, Paris becoming PFL’s marquee event, Doumbé growing fan base and how important a win is for the superstar in front of his hometown support. Hannoun also discusses Jason Jackson implanting himself in the conversation to fight Doumbé next coming off his statement win at PFL vs. Bellator in Saudi Arabia.

Ilia Topuria has become an overnight sensation in Spain on the back of his UFC 298 title win over Alexander Volkanovski. Since returning home he has been received by the President of Spain, been given a hero’s welcome at the Santiago Bernabéu and has had record-breaking appearances on one of Spain’s most beloved primetime TV shows. The great Gonzalo Campos, commentator for UFC on Eurosport and the presenter of Generacion MMA, joins The Craic from his home in Madrid to give us the lowdown on Topuria’s popularity, the possibility of a UFC event at Santiago Bernabéu and much more.

Friend of the podcast, Philip O’Connor, is one of the most experienced sports journalists Ireland has ever produced. Having covered stars from all different backgrounds on the biggest stages in the world - including World Cups and Olympic Games - we ask, what must Ian Machado Garry and his team do to win back favour among the Irish fan base and Irish media? O’Connor discusses where the Irishman’s PR has gone wrong in the past, what side of himself he should highlight in interviews, and most importantly, how saveable this situation is despite his current situation.

After his sensational debut on The Craic last week ahead of Ilia Topuria’s title capture at UFC 298, Danny Segura of Hablemos MMA and MMA Junkie returns from Mexico City to discuss the implications of Yair Rodriguez’s showdown with Brian Ortega in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC card. Segura gives insight into the reaction amongst Hispanic MMA fans in the aftermath of Topuria’s title capture, talks about the growing beef between Yair and the new champ and gives his take on how big UFC’s debut in Spain could be with Topuria as champion.

The fantastic Dublin duo of Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson return to The Craic to give their thoughts on Ian Machado Garry’s UFC 298 performance. The trio - who would prefer to be referred to as “The Trident of Knowledge” hence forth - discussed Machado Garry’s appearance on The MMA Hour, the need for him to engage broader Irish media outside of the MMA bubble, his potential return to Dublin, and what opponent they would prefer for his next outing, Colby Covington or Sean Brady?

Donagh Corby returns to The Craic to discuss whether Ian Garry is gaining the same traction among Irish MMA fans compared to the country’s other UFC charges. The D15 duo give their thoughts on Garry’s clash with Geoff Neal, contemplate the Dubliner’s readiness for the Anaheim date compared to his last scheduled outing with Vicente Luque amidst the social media storm that surrounded him, and consider whether doing more media with Irish publications would help bolster interest nationally in his career.

The great Danny Segura of the Hablemos MMA Podcast and MMA Junkie joins Petesy Carroll to discuss how Ilia Topuria has become a star in his adopted home of Spain.Segura discusses how Topuria has garnered mainstream coverage nationally and how his dreams of competing at the home of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu, may be a reality. With pound-for-pound great Alexander Volkanovski standing between Topuria and UFC gold, could the challenger snatching gold make him the biggest European star the promotion has seen since Conor McGregor?

Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie has given the French MMA scene a bigger spotlight than anyone across the major MMA publications. Joining the The Craic this week, she gives her take on Paris being the new capital of European MMA and debates whether PFL’s Cedric Doumbé is more popular than former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou nationally. The veteran reporter also highlights how the sport of MMA has garnered mainstream coverage in France, despite it only becoming legal in 2020.

Petesy take us behind the scenes of an upcoming project he is working on with surging apparel powerhouse, Montirex, which will focus on the crown jewel of U.K. MMA, Leon Edwards.

Rhys McKee returned to The Craic to discuss his March 30th date with seasoned veteran Chidi Njokuani who returns to welterweight for the first time since 2016 when they meet in Atlantic City. McKee shares his feelings on becoming father, the Irish contingent that are said to be arriving in Atlantic City to support him and Caolan Loughran and the tragic injury of teammate Ryan “Chaos” Curtis. For more information on Ryan and to contribute to his GoFundMe, please click the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

During the pandemic, Jack Cartwright was bantamweight champion of Cage Warriors and considered one of the best prospects in European MMA. After a forgettable DQ win over Sylwester Miller, the word was that the Manchester native would be given an opportunity on Contender Series to prove he was UFC calibre. The opportunity came a whopping seventeen months after the Miller fight, with Cartwright coming out of it on the wrong end of a decision to Jose Johnson. In November 2023, Cartwright made a massive statement in his Oktagon debut, setting up a clash with former divisional champion Jonas Magard, which takes pride of place in Newcastle this Saturday night for Oktagon 52. Cartwright joins The Craic for the first time to discuss being CW champion, the Contender Series loss, Jonas Magard and his future with Oktagon.

Caolan Loughran was dealt an almighty swich-a-roo in his UFC debut last September in Paris which resulted in his first professional defeat. Now, booked for his sophomore outing against Angel Pacheco in Atlantic City on March 30, he has ventured to Arizona for a three-week training camp at Fight Ready, the stomping ground of UFC champions like Henry Cejudo and Deiveson Figueiredo. The Tyrone man discussed his time in Arizona, being motivated by his first loss, stealing the show in Arizona and much more. Irish flyweight Ryan Curtis suffered a career-ending injury and needs your help. Read his story and donate if you can: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

After their lofty aspirations for the proposed UFC Manchester in July, Petesy Carroll welcomed back U.K. journalist Chisanga Malata so they could walk back their hopes of joint headline event with Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall at the top of the bill. Following the devastating news of Irish flyweight Ryan Curtis suffering a career-ending injury last week, Petesy recalls covering the Dubliner’s career and gives an overview of the situation he is now facing. He also describes how the Irish MMA community have rallied around Curtis due to his close friend Leah McCourt going public with the information on Saturday. To read more about the situation or to help out with a donation, please click the link below. https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

Six months ago, it felt like a UFC Dublin event in 2024 was bound to happen. Now, at the turn of the year, it seems highly unlikely that the UFC will return to mark the tenth anniversary of the historic 2014 show which marked the emergence of Conor McGregor as a household name and the greater Irish Invasion for the promotion. Petesy is joined by Irish media stalwarts Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson to discuss the likelihood of UFC returning this year, the importance of Ian Garry’s next fight and the return of Conor McGregor.

Ahead of his meeting with Tyson Fury, the boxing world ridiculed Francis Ngannou’s involvement in what they believed was a “gimmick” fight. Now, with the Anthony Joshua clash booked, Gavan Casey of the42.ie returns to discuss how Ngannou’s knockdown of Fury changed everything and how he could become number one contender to the heavyweight title with a win over AJ. Casey also discusses why boxing people have embraced Ngannou and gives his take on Saudi’s involvement in boxing, how it’s become commonplace for events to take place there and how the muted atmosphere of the events could effect the legacy of the bouts that take place in the region.

Following Leon Edwards’ successful title defence against Colby Covington, Petesy is joined by one of the best in the business, Chisanga Malata, who was at T-Mobile Arena to cover UFC 296 on Saturday night. Chisanga relives shocking remarks made at both UFC press conferences during the week, gives his take on UFC Manchester speculation and how impressed he was by defending UFC champion Leon Edwards.

Petesy is joined by UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards ahead of his UFC 296 clash with Colby Covington. “Rocky” discusses life as a champion, Colby Covington’s last chance at UFC gold, Donald Trump hoping he loses, Ian Garry and the rumoured UFC Manchester card. Petesy gives his take on the UFC Manchester rumours, talk quietening down on UFC Dublin and the highly anticipated UFC 296 press conference on Thursday.

Petesy Carroll is joined by Donagh Corby, Andy Stevenson and Dylan Tuke at 3 Arena to discuss PFL's inaugural Dublin event. Corby and Stevenson give their highlights of the night and Tuke talks his successful return to his hometown and being one of the big takeaways from the event. Petesy explains why the rest of the scene, outside of SBG, feel like PFL has become "The SBG Show" and how that may effect the promotion's growth in Ireland.

Ian Machado Garry and his wife/manager, Layla Anna Lee, have been the subject of a social media circus since mid-November. Despite their personal life being put under the microscope by sects of the MMA fanbase, Petesy and the king of Irish MMA media, Severe MMA’s Andy Stevenson, discuss whether the online noise could have an impact on his upcoming fight with Vicente Luque, and Garry’s career beyond UFC 296.

Petesy has been catching a lot of flack for being “negative” about PFL Dublin, so to toast the promotion’s arrival on the Emerald Isle, Petesy is joined by the king of Irish MMA media, Severe MMA’s Andy Stevenson, to discuss what they’re most excited about regarding the 3 Arena event. The lads discuss a new Finglas hero, Dylan back in Dublin, life changing money on the line for tournament winners, McGrillen magic and much more as they look toward the final leg of PFL Europe.

When Bellator entered the Irish market in 2016, MMA was in a boom period on the back of Conor McGregor’s success in the UFC, which helped the promotion attract the attention of casual sports fans to its 3 Arena events. With PFL set to enter the Irish market next week, sentiment for MMA in the country is relatively low with Conor McGregor - the main frame of reference for most Irish people when it comes to the sport - reportedly being investigated for incitement to violence regarding last Thursday’s Dublin riots. Petesy also gives his take on the PFL Dublin card and the Ian Machado Garry drama.