why always the ufc??

Bagels90

hi guys,
i just have a question for irish fighters/coaches, why do irish fighters always go only for the ufc? i may be very wrong but i never hear of any lads goin for trials at strikeforce or titan fights or bellator( bar aish of course) etc. i know that the ufc is by far the best promotion and the one anyone would want to fight in but im just wondering why great fighters such as chris fields etc. dont try fight in BAMMA etc. or any other overseas well known organisation. or is it that the ufc is the only one that gives people this opportunity(TUF)??

once again they probably do and if so who has tried to fight where??

thanks guys

scudzilla

I wouldn't say that the Irish lads only go for UFC, I presume you mean The Ultimate Fighter.
If they think they're good enough then why shouldn't they go for it.
No other promotion has anything like it, If a fighter strings together a decent run then that's when the likes if Strikeforce/Bellator/Bamma will sign them for a few fights.
TUF is just a quicker option of getting into the biggest promotion in MMA, ya don't even have to make the TUF final now to get a contract.

Maldini2706

There aren't any "trials" for other orgs are there?

Raze_them_all

UFC gives trials and puts local fighters on local shows.

Don't see any other orgs coming to ireland to do it.

pablohoney87

Greg loughran in bellator anyone?

Mellor

Bagels90 wrote: »

hi guys,
i just have a question for irish fighters/coaches, why do irish fighters always go only for the ufc? i may be very wrong but i never hear of any lads goin for trials at strikeforce or titan fights or bellator( bar aish of course)

A bit confused by this tbh.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but afaik there has so far been one Irish fighter on a UFC card (Tom Egan) and one on Belator (Ais Daly). So pretty even there. If Strikeforce had an event here it would be list also.

Then you have Paul McVeigh who is currently at the try-outs/interviews for TUF14.


so, basically I don't really agree with what you suggest is happening.

pablohoney87

Mellor wrote: »

A bit confused by this tbh.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but afaik there has so far been one Irish fighter on a UFC card (Tom Egan) and one on Belator (Ais Daly). So pretty even there. If Strikeforce had an event here it would be list also.

Then you have Paul McVeigh who is currently at the try-outs/interviews for TUF14.


so, basically I don't really agree with what you suggest is happening.

I reckon most irish will claim Lynch and Robinson too. and i just said gregg loughran in bellator so thats 2
Weve got Irish lads showin up on some of europes top cards. In terms of where Irish MMA is I reckon thats a pretty big step. over the next 2 years maybe Id rather see more of our guys on a worldwide stage but ill personally settle for europe for now
P.S. Ya gotta put "" around "Irish" with Paul Mcveigh. He's flyin the scottish flag on TUF

Raze_them_all

Another way of looking at it would be to say compare it to soccer. Bamma are St. Pats the UFC is Barcelona. Who would you rather be with?

pablohoney87

Raze_them_all wrote: »

Another way of looking at it would be to say compare it to soccer. Bamma are St. Pats the UFC is Barcelona. Who would you rather be with?

Id look at it more as BAMMA maybe UEFA cup and UFC champions league. ANd Ill take st pats in UEFA cup TBH
But I do see where your'e comin from with your analogy

Mellor

pablohoney87 wrote: »

I reckon most irish will claim Lynch and Robinson too. and i just said gregg loughran in bellator so thats 2
Weve got Irish lads showin up on some of europes top cards. In terms of where Irish MMA is I reckon thats a pretty big step. over the next 2 years maybe Id rather see more of our guys on a worldwide stage but ill personally settle for europe for now
P.S. Ya gotta put "" around "Irish" with Paul Mcveigh. He's flyin the scottish flag on TUF

That's true, they could be considered Irish.
I always leave it up to the athlete, and go with what ever they consider themselves.
THat's a bit of a bit assumption on McVeigh btw, based on 3 seconds of video i'm guessing

Kal_El

Bagels90 wrote: »

hi guys,
i just have a question for irish fighters/coaches, why do irish fighters always go only for the ufc? i may be very wrong but i never hear of any lads goin for trials at strikeforce or titan fights or bellator( bar aish of course) etc. i know that the ufc is by far the best promotion and the one anyone would want to fight in but im just wondering why great fighters such as chris fields etc. dont try fight in BAMMA etc. or any other overseas well known organisation. or is it that the ufc is the only one that gives people this opportunity(TUF)??

once again they probably do and if so who has tried to fight where??

thanks guys

The UFC is the pinacle of MMA. Every fighter around the globe wants to get there not just the guys over here. I do think however that it would be better if the Irish fighters fought on shows such as BAMMA, Bellator and Strikeforce first to expose them to better quality opponents and gain valuble experience of the big shows. I think that the performances of the last three Irish guys on the UFC shows the gulf in standard between here and the UFC. Now before anyone gets all bitchy im not putting Stevie,Colin or Tom down, what they achived in simply getting there is massive on its own. I think that for an Irish guy to make it in the UFC he will have to leave Ireland and train either in England or in the States where the quality of training partners is higher.

the killing

Thanks for reffering to me as a great fighter. I dont think im there yet but I appreciate it. In my opinion I think any Irish fighter would jump at the chance to fight on any of the shows you have named. A lot of Irish lads have already fought on Cage Warriors which would be bigger than BAMMA. I think there is more of a chance of geting on a UFC card cause they travel more and the American companies dont wanna pay the costs of getting us there to fight when they can just get a local guy

Xlami

Raze_them_all wrote: »

Another way of looking at it would be to say compare it to soccer. Bamma are St. Pats the UFC is Barcelona. Who would you rather be with?

In my opinion if your creating a footballing analogy Cage Contender would be Pats, BAMMA would be Aberdeen and UFC would be Barca. The gap between BAMMA and Cage Contender is much smaller than gap between BAMMA and UFC. Are there many Irish guys on the current BAMMA roster? I've only heard of Robert Devanne and not seen much on him.

bret69

Kal_El wrote: »

I think that the performances of the last three Irish guys on the UFC shows

I didn't know there was 3.

Besides Tom Egan, who was there and what cards did they fight on?

Barry.Oglesby

Colin Robinson and Stevie Lynch fought on the Belfast card. Stevie fought again in the UK so he is actually Ireland's most experienced UFC fighter . This was pre TUF and the general explosion in popularity that ensued from that so not many people would know about it. Colin is still active as a coach in IMMA but Stevie has been inactive for some time now.

LOL at "claiming" them as Irish. I'm pretty sure they're Irish since they were born and live in Ireland!

scudzilla

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Colin Robinson and Stevie Lynch fought on the Belfast card. Stevie fought again in the UK so he is actually Ireland's most experienced UFC fighter . This was pre TUF and the general explosion in popularity that ensued from that so not many people would know about it. Colin is still active as a coach in IMMA but Stevie has been inactive for some time now.

LOL at "claiming" them as Irish. I'm pretty sure they're Irish since they were born and live in Ireland!

Big Col fought at 72 & in Newcastle at 80, next time i saw him he was doing venue security in Dublin for 93, checking passes for VIP's going onto the floor, bit of a come down.

Barry.Oglesby

scudzilla wrote: »

Big Col fought at 72 & in Newcastle at 80, next time i saw him he was doing venue security in Dublin for 93, checking passes for VIP's going onto the floor, bit of a come down.

Why would that be a comedown?

pablohoney87

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

LOL at "claiming" them as Irish. I'm pretty sure they're Irish since they were born and live in Ireland!

I only put that in as not to offend Barry. Can never be sure of someones politics but ive met my fair share of lads up north who wont call themselves Irish and consider themselves "british".
But thats another thread in another category all together.

Barry.Oglesby

Well okay. I don't care about the politics so I don't try to tread carefully I just wade in

scudzilla

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Why would that be a comedown?

From fighting on the card in front of thousands, then a few events later being site security checking passes, to me thats a bit of a come down

DrPhilG

scudzilla wrote: »

From fighting on the card in front of thousands, then a few events later being site security checking passes, to me thats a bit of a come down

I'd agree if he had been a headline star etc, but he wasn't. He was given a shot as part of the UFC policy of recruiting local fighters on short term deals. Unlike most, Robinson got a second fight because he came damn close to beating Eddie Sanchez at 72.

If Anderson Silva is working security at UFC 160, then I'll call that a come down. For a local fighter getting a big chance at a UFC event and then working security at an event 18 months down the line after (I think) retiring from competition, it's not that dramatic is it?