THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING Championship heads to Scotland for the first time this weekend and there’s a strong Irish flavour to the event.
Paul Redmond and Paddy Holohan are set to appear on the prelims, while Joseph Duffy has got a main-card slot at UFC Fight Night 72 at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow.
The show will be headlined by the middleweight meeting of Michael Bisping and Thales Leites, but our focus is predominantly on the Irish trio.
Joseph Duffy vs. Ivan Jorge
It may not be the most stacked card of the year but it’s still a sign of the UFC’s faith in Joseph Duffy that he’s been given such a prominent placing on the bill — the final bout of the night before the co-main event — in what will be just his second outing for the promotion.
Having impressively won his debut back in March via first-round KO at the expense of Jake Lindsey, Duffy has been handed a more difficult test this time in the shape of Brazilian veteran Ivan Jorge.
With eight wins in his last nine — including two in the UFC — Jorge is an opponent Duffy won’t underestimate. The 34-year-old is also a former lightweight champion for highly-regarded Brazilian promotion Jungle Fights.
There’s a lot of hype behind Joseph Duffy — mainly due to his status as the last man to defeat Conor McGregor — but this Saturday represents another opportunity for the Donegal native to make his name on his own terms, as well as putting him in line for a big fight when the UFC comes to Dublin in October.
Paddy Holohan vs. Vaughan Lee
Paddy Holohan’s place on the UFC roster won’t be on the line in this one but Vaughan Lee’s may well be. Lee is a talented fighter who holds notable wins over the likes of Kid Yamamoto and Nam Phan, but there’s pressure on the Englishman here.
Having not fought since a 25-second KO loss to Iuri Alcantara in May 2014 — which brought his UFC record to 3-4 — Lee is dropping to flyweight for the first time in order to revive his career in the octagon. However, a defeat to Holohan this weekend is likely to bring that stint to an end.
After watching his Straight Blast Gym team-mate Conor McGregor grab himself a UFC belt last weekend, Holohan will be even more keen to make his own charge towards title contention in the 125lbs division.
Following a dominant win against Shane Howell back in January, Holohan is looking to continue his progress on Saturday by picking up his third victory in the octagon — which will leave him with the same number of UFC wins as top flyweights such as Ali Bagautinov, Zach Makovsky, Dustin Ortiz and Wilson Reis.
Paul Redmond vs. Robert Whiteford
Paul Redmond finally gets an opportunity to show what he’s capable of with a full training camp behind him this weekend, but his opponent Robert Whiteford will have the benefit of competing with the Glasgow crowd behind him.
That won’t bother Redmond, however, as he searches for his first taste of victory in the UFC. Redmond made his debut in Stockholm in January but lost to Mirsad Bektic via unanimous decision. However, the Dubliner had only taken the fight on two weeks’ notice and had to shed 33lbs in that short spell in an attempt to make featherweight for the first time.
The weight cut has been more straightforward this time so expect to see the Paul Redmond of old, who lit up the Cage Warriors lightweight division with his all-action style and adventurous submission offence.
Robert Whiteford is a heavy-hitting judoka who carries the tag of favourite into this one, but Redmond has often relished being the underdog and he’ll be eager to silence the home crowd when he faces the Scotsman this weekend.
UFCFightPass.com is the only place to see live coverage of UFC Fight Night 72, which starts at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
